In a September 20 report, the New Indian Express has used a misleading representational image for the child marriage of a Muslim girl in Malappuram, Kerala. As per a TNIE report, a qazi was booked for officiating the marriage along with the groom and the parents.
Qazi, who is the magistrate of the Sharia Court, was there to solemnise the marriage, which proves that it was a Nikah or a Muslim wedding. However, the representational image used by TNIE shows a bindi-clad minor Hindu girl with garland showing as if it was a Hindu child marriage.
Interestingly, another report on the same case published by TNIE on September 19 mentioned that the couple was from the ‘minority community’. The representational image in that report also was of a ‘Hindu’ wedding, misleading the readers.
The case of child marriage in Kerala
The incident took place on September 18 in Karuvarakundu, district Malappuram, Kerala. Reports suggest that the police registered a case against four persons, including the qazi, groom and the parents, after they learned that the bride was a 17-year-old girl studying in 12th standard. On the next day, the police recorded the girl’s statement and initiated a probe in the case.
Manoj Parayatta, Inspector, Karuvarakundu Police Station, said that they had registered a case under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. He said, “Child marriage is a serious offence that will attract a punishment of five years imprisonment or Rs 10 lakh fine. Those abetting the marriage which may include the guests who participated in the marriage, caterers and videographers can be booked under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.”
The officer added that it is hard to gather evidence in cases involving child marriages. He said, “Usually, such marriages are conducted secretly. They won’t take photographs, and the people in the area will not cooperate with the investigation by handing over the pieces of evidence. Still, we will carry out the investigation seriously and ensure maximum punishment for the people involved so that such cases don’t happen again.”
Malappuram district, a Muslim majority region, is known for such child marriages. In 2017, ten such weddings were stopped by the authorities. In 2016, 12 such marriages were blocked in the Moothedam panchayat that is adjacent to Karuvarakundu.
Mainstream media regularly use misleading representational images
Using misleading representational images that stigmatise the Hindu community when the crime involves persons from the Muslim community is a common practice in mainstream media. Such representational images often contact graphics associated with the Hindu religion even though the parties involved are from the Muslim community. There have been countless such incidents where media houses change the representational image after the uproar.
In July this year, Maharashtra Police arrested occult practitioner ‘Baba Karim Khan Bengali’ for cheating a young woman, but the mainstream media decided to call him ‘Tantrik’. In the same month, occult practitioner Afzal Malik and his aides gang-raped a minor girl in Amroha, but the reports in ‘secular media’ referred to him as ‘Tantrik’.
Often, even the imagery associated with the reports is ‘Hindu’, creating a false impression in the mind of readers that Hindus were the perpetrators of the crime.
