A Home for Pregnant Minors

This is, perhaps, a first for India. The Delhi government has opened a short-stay home for pregnant minors. “Most of the girls have either been abandoned by their lovers or are victims of rape,” says Neera Mullick, chairperson, Child Welfare Committee.

This is, perhaps, a first for India. The Delhi government has opened a short-stay home for pregnant minors. “Most of the girls have either been abandoned by their lovers or are victims of rape,” says Neera Mullick, chairperson, Child Welfare Committee.
Till now, the girls were kept in children’s homes till the time they delivered—an unhealthy situation not only for them but also for the other children. This move, however, only seems to be a half-step as the girls are transferred to the new home only when they are in their advanced stage of pregnancy. The girls, said Mullick, belong to poor families and some of them have been through shocking experiences. The youngest, said the officer, was a 13-year-old who worked as domestic help and was raped by her brother-in-law.

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Pallavi Polanki