Date:30/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/30/stories/2008113050720300.htm

Kerala - Kannur

Marriages cross the border as men seek more

Special Correspondent

Heavy dowry demands behind ‘Mysore kalyanams’: study

Out of the 9,721 women surveyed, 2,930 were found deserted
‘Haryana marriages’ and ‘Tamil Nadu marriages’ also common

KANNUR: The forced cross-border marriage of girls prevalent in some northern districts of the State is a result of poverty, educational backwardness and heavy dowry demands, according to a study.

The study on what is known as ‘Mysore kalyanam’ in local parlance, conducted for the State Women’s Commission by V. Jayarajan, shows that matrimonial alliances involving bridegrooms from Karnataka are concentrated in the Malabar region.

The survey covers 9,721 women who were married off to men from Mysore and other places in Karnataka.

Of these, 6,212 families belong to Malappuram district, followed by Thrissur (1,312 families), Kozhikode (914), Kannur (825), Palakkad (245) and Kasaragod (213). The study also finds that ‘Mysore marriage’ is seen only in the Muslim community.

Other factors

Poverty, illiteracy and social backwardness push economically-backward families in these districts into marrying off their daughters to men from other States, according to the study.

The legal validity of many of these marriages is questionable. Moreover, problems such as ill-treatment, desertion and non-payment of maintenance to wife and children crop up in many of the marriages.

The study also finds that the grooms are not just from Karnataka, but also from Tamil Nadu and even from Haryana.

‘Haryana marriage’ is found in Kannur and Kasaragod districts and ‘Tamil Nadu marriage’ is common in the areas bordering Tamil Nadu; but, ‘Mysore marriage’ is widespread in the Malabar region. Out of the 9,721 women surveyed, 8,112 have studied up to Class VII, while only 13 reached the graduation level.

Majority of these girls belong to families living far below the poverty line.

The study notes that the families of 6,480 of the women did not find any problem with cross-border marriages.

On the other hand, 3,241 families say that cross-border marriages should not be encouraged.

As many as 2,930 of the women have been deserted by their husbands, while the whereabouts of 311 of them are not known.

The study says that poor families prefer bridegrooms from other States because the latter demand dowries far lesser than what their counterparts in the State do.

Cell sought

The study recommends the opening of a separate cell under the State Women’s Commission as a way of addressing the problems being faced by these women.