Child marriage custom in India

According to a report by the US "New York Daily News" on June 23, 2014, photographer Shankar Puri in Rajasthan, western India, mysteriously photographed a children's group wedding in the rural area of Kishangarh in May 2014. Among them, a 7-year-old girl married a 16-year-old boy as a bride. There were more than 20 children participating in the collective wedding, and the youngest bride was only 7 years old. They wore the traditional Indian red wedding dress Sari and held a wedding ceremony in a temple. Puri could only watch the ceremony and could not reach out to the children because it could endanger his safety.

Puri said: "I received a confidential tip that morning, and immediately called the police, and then rushed to the wedding site. When I arrived at what looked like a township market, many men and women in wedding costumes gathered there to watch the children's wedding. These children are singing and dancing to celebrate, and they have no idea what they are doing is wrong."

Puri said that due to the too many people participating in the wedding, even if the police arrived at the scene, they were unable to stop the wedding. If the police intervened, they could be beaten by villagers. Child marriage has a long history in India, and most urban and rural residents in Rajasthan still follow this custom. Although it is illegal and has been vigorously blocked by women's rights organizations and non-governmental organizations, it is still continuing.