印度集體童婚 7歲女童嫁16歲男孩

According to a local photojournalist, more than 20 children, aged between 7-16 years old, were married in front of their village community, in Kishangarh, Rajasthan, on May.

據當地攝影記者報道，5月份，有超過20個7-16歲的孩子在拉賈斯坦吉申格爾當地村莊結婚。

Shocking pictures have emerged of a mass children's wedding in India showing brides as young as seven years old dressed in the traditional red wedding sari as they were forced to marry boys of 16.

令人震驚兒童集體婚禮的照片已經公之於衆。照片中展示了只有7歲的新娘們穿着傳統的紅色結婚服飾——紗麗，被迫嫁給16歲的男孩。

More than 20 children, aged between 7-16 years old, were married in front of their village community, in Kishangarh, Rajasthan.

超過20個7-16歲的孩子，在拉賈斯坦吉申格爾當地村莊前舉行婚禮。

The youngsters were secretly photographed when they were on their way to a temple for the wedding ceremony last month.

這些照片祕密拍攝於上個月孩子們前往寺廟舉行婚禮儀式的路上。

Local photojournalist, Shankar Puri, found out about the ceremony and attended but he couldn't do anything to help, as he feared for his safety if the huge number of families found out.

當地攝影記者尚卡爾?普里發現並且也參加了婚禮。但是他什麼都不能做，因爲他害怕一旦被衆多家人發現，他就自身難保了。

Shankar said: "I was tipped off about the weddings that very morning. I informed the police immediately and then I rushed to the venue. When I arrived it looked like a village fair. Hordes of men and women in their best clothes had gathered to witness the marriages of innocent children. They were singing songs and celebrating and laughing and giggling. It was really disheartening. They had no idea that what they were doing was so wrong."

尚卡爾說：“我那天早上很早就得到了婚禮的消息。我立刻通知了警察，然後趕往現場。我到那裏的時候，那兒看起來像是個鄉村集市。成羣結隊的男人和女人，穿着他們最好的衣服，親眼見證那些無辜海通的婚禮。他們唱着歌來慶祝，笑個不停。場面令人十分沮喪。他們不知道他們做的事是犯了大錯。”

Shankar said local police arrived but were unable to do anything to stop the weddings.

尚卡爾說到場的警察也沒法停止婚禮的進行。

He added: "The police couldn't do anything as they were outnumbered by the relatives. If they had done anything the villagers would've beaten them. Even the law of the land didn't have enough power to stop these child marriages taking place."

他補充說：“警察什麼都做不了，因爲親戚們的人數比他們要多得多。如果他們做出點什麼，村民可能會打他們。甚至當地法律也不足以阻止童婚的發生。”

Child marriage is an age-old custom in India and is still practiced by a majority of people both in rural and urban Rajasthan.

童婚在印度是個古老的習俗，至今拉賈斯坦城市和農村的大部分人仍然沿襲這一習俗。

Even though it is illegal and despite efforts by women's rights organisation and NGOs, the devastating tradition continues.

儘管這是違法的，與婦女權利組織和非政府組織作出的努力相反，這一可怕的習俗仍然延續了下來。

Kriti Bharti, a child right activist who has stopped 124 child marriages and annulled seven, said fighting the custom involves a lot of risk.

兒童權利活動家，克里特?巴蒂阻止過124起童婚，取消過7起，聲稱和這一習俗抗爭意味着許多風險。

She said: "Stopping child marriage is a challenge as parents change the venue the night before or postpone the wedding. By the time we reach the spot, children are already married off. We are trying every bit to educate people about the harms of an early marriage, but it will take a lot of time before this custom is stopped altogether in India."

她說：“阻止童婚是項挑戰，因爲父母們會在婚禮前夜轉移場地或是推遲婚禮。當我們到達現場的時候，孩子們已經結婚了。我們竭盡全力教育人們早婚的危害，但是要完全在印度消除這一習俗需要很長時間。”