Recently BBC-news reported an increase of child labour and child marriage in India.
Because many jobs disappeared many families have little or no income. Therefore children, who cannot go to school temporarily, are set to work to create extra income. The children are often transported by bus because they are put to work hundred up to thousand kilometres from home. It is a criminal offense to employ children for work. Luckily there are police controls and so some children are lucky to be rescued from the bus.
About child marriage:
In India it still is the tradition that the parents of the bride have to pay for the marriage. Meaning they have to provide a dowry and invite many guests.
Because of the lockdown the number of guests allowed has been strongly reduced. So people take advantage of this situation to marry their girl. This saves a lot of money.
A second reason is that many young men have lost their job and are returning to their hometown or villages. To protect their daughters (against abuse) parents choose to marry their daughter now even if she is younger than 18. This also is illegal in India.
Luckily the priests and sisters have many contacts with “our” children and their parents and they still have some influence.
Father Quadras India Team