At an age when she should have been worrying about her Class 10 board exams, 15-year-old Pooja (name changed) was counting down the days to her wedding.
In a village in Hingoli district, her parents had arranged her marriage to a 25-year-old man. The decision would have ended his education if his school principal had not intervened after noticing his sudden withdrawal from class.
Today, Pooja has gone back to studying for the SSC exam, called off her wedding, and reclaimed her childhood, at least for now.
Child marriage, although prohibited, continues to disrupt the lives of girls across Maharashtra, particularly in the Marathwada region, where poverty and social pressure often outweigh the law. Every year, district authorities intervene to prevent dozens of cases in which school-age girls are removed from classrooms and forced into early marriage. The problem is most serious in Marathwada, comprising Beed, Parbhani, Jalna, Hingoli, Nanded, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Dharashiv, which records the highest incidence in the state. According to the National Family Health Survey 5, 37.1 percent of women in Hingoli were married before the legal age.
Pooja, the only daughter of daily wage labourers, is a class 10 student in a government-run school in a village in Hingoli district. Earlier this month, his principal noticed a sudden change in his behavior in class.
“She had become unusually quiet. I first spoke to her friends to find out what was happening and then I spoke to her personally,” the director said. “She told me she was distraught because the wedding would mean the end of her education. When she opened up, she asked if anything could be done to stop it because she wanted to continue studying.”
The director, who is a member of the village Child Protection Committee (VCPC), immediately informed the Gram Panchayat, following which the local child protection mechanism was activated. The VCPC is a community body responsible for child safety at the village level and includes sarpanch, Anganwadi workers, members of women’s groups and police representatives.
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The committee members visited Pooja’s house last week and persuaded her parents to call off the wedding. “We explained to them that child marriage is illegal and they could face legal action. The mother was crying, fearing that canceling the wedding at the last minute would ruin her daughter’s future prospects,” the director said.
He added that poverty had driven the family’s decision. “A daughter’s marriage is considered a big responsibility. They wanted to end it soon, before it became more expensive. In such cases, awareness is more effective than punishment,” he said.
District officials said steps have been taken to ensure that the family does not attempt to hold the marriage again. The VCPC and school authorities are advising parents and supporting the girl so she can continue her education.
Officials said the district administration and the Women and Child Development Department have launched several initiatives to curb this practice. In 2025 alone, the District Child Protection Cell prevented 44 child marriages, compared to 16 in 2024, after specific awareness campaigns.
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Noting a decline in the sex ratio, the district administration recently launched a special campaign against child marriage. District Collector Rahul Gupta said early marriage was one of the contributing factors to the problem.
“Girls married at a young age face high-risk pregnancies and have little say in family decisions. This also increases the risk of female feticide. We have strengthened surveillance at the village level to stop child marriages,” said Gupta.
As part of the campaign, registration of marriages with local authorities has been made mandatory. Wedding halls have been instructed to alert officials if they suspect a child marriage. Priests, imams and other religious leaders have also been ordered not to solemnize marriages involving minors and to inform authorities if they are approached.
