15-Year-Old Girl Saved From Forced Marriage in Delhi

According to a UNICEF report published last week, at least 1.5 million girls under the age of 18 get married in India annually. The number makes the country home to the largest number of child brides in the world. Nearly 16 percent of adolescent girls aged 15-19 are presently married.

A 15-year-old girl, who was being forcibly married off by her family from Delhi's Jahangirpuri area, has been rescued by the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW).

The government organisation DCW exists to investigate and examine all matters related to the safeguards provided for women under the constitution and other laws of the country.

The incident came to light following the complaint of an unidentified person to the DCW, who also claimed that the religion of the girl was set to be converted through the marriage taking place.

"Upon receiving the complaint, DCW activated its local ground team to gather more information. The team discretely surveyed the area for two days and was able to extract all the information and exact timing of the marriage ceremony," the women welfare organisation DCW revealed.

After the girl was rescued Thursday night, her mother admitted that her daughter was a minor.

The Delhi Commission for Women with the saved victim (blurred).

© Photo : Delhi Commission of Women

Police are probing the matter further by questioning the girl's family and those who were present at the ceremony.

DCW Chief Swati Maliwal told reporters, "It is unfortunate that we are still witnessing child marriages in the country. In the past six years, we have rescued thousands of minor girls from being married off. We'll keep working and try our best to safeguard the rights of our girls."