Heartbreaking footage has emerged reportedly showing a 5-year-old girl sobbing as she is forced to marry a boy who looks to be a young teenager.
The viral YouTube video emerged online and was allegedly recorded in Chittorgarh, a city in Rajasthan, northern India, this week. It also shows a number of other ceremonies taking place where all of the brides appear to be under age and marrying older males.
In India, the legal age to marry for a girl is 18 and for boys it’s 21.
In one of the most confronting moments, a little girl, not much older than a toddler is dressed in pink and shrieking in a crowded room full of people watching her take part in her wedding ceremony.
Another clip shows a girl distraught as she is pushed around the room by several men and holding the hand of her betrothed.
The video has sparked outrage among child rights activists who call the practice a “tragedy.”
“My heart goes out to these little children trapped in this tragedy,” Kriti Bharti, activist and founder of charity Saarthi Trust Kriti Bharti told The Sun.
“Action should not only be taken against the families but each adult involved in the ceremony including the decorators, caterers, attendees, relatives etc.”
According to the United Nations child marriage is a human rights violation.
“Despite laws against it, the practice remains widespread, in part because of persistent poverty and gender inequality,” the UN states on its website. “In developing countries, one in every three girls is married before reaching age 18. One in nine is married under age 15.
The UN warns that for girls, child marriage threatens their “lives and health, and it limits their future prospects.”
Child marriage is still rife in India among the less educated but through her work with her charity, Ms Bharti has managed to annul 29 child marriages in Rajasthan and has stopped 850 taking place.
Watch the video on YouTube here.
