Khap panchayats want low marriage age to curb rape

Rohtak, Oct 6: The khap mahapanchayat in

has blamed the electronic media for the recent rise in rape cases in the state and asked the government to lower the age of marriage to prevent such crime.

According to khap panchayat spokesperson Sube Singh, young people today get attracted to the opposite sex at a very early age, thanks to the influence of vulgarity shown on TV and cinema.

He said vulgarity lead to early puberty among youth, who are not mature enough to deal with the attraction towards the opposite sex, and this ultimately leads to crime like rape. Singh prescribed that the age of marriage should be lowered so that men and women could fulfil their physical desires and that would curb the crime against women.

It is learnt that the mahapanchayat, which represents khaps from across the state, will take up the issue at its next meeting at Gohana in Sonipat. One of the khap panchayat heads also supported Singh's proposal. He said because of the fast-changing lifestyle of the youngsters, they are becoming sexually active at an early stage and should be allowed to fulfil their instincts earlier by getting them married.

However, according to some psychologists, such moves will do little in reducing crime against women. They said crime against women is mainly caused by gender bias.

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