Unwed Adivasi mothers on the rise in state

Thiruvananthapuram: The issue of infant death in the tribal hamlets has been reported in the media over the last many years. Now, the number of unwed mothers too is on the rise.

According to the latest data, the number of unwed mothers has raised to 19 after the new LDF government came into the power. Minister for Welfare of SCs and STs A.K Balan told the Assembly on October 5 that there are 1070 unwed women in the tribal hamlets in Kerala.

In February, former Minister P.K Jayalakshmi had told the Assembly that 1,051 unwed tribal women were present in the state. According to the data submitted by former minister M.A Kuttappan in the Assembly on June 13, 2002, the number was at 400. This shows that there is a significant raise in the number of unmarried women in the tribal hamlets in Kerala.

Though the previous UDF government had introduced new schemes under the 100-day programme, it was not implemented in its full swing. All along, the successive governments have failed to prevent the atrocities against the Adivasi community.

Even if the cases were registered in many of the incidents, the justices were denied. Though many of the victims can identify the paternity of their children, they were forced back owing to their social conditions. It is a stark reality that the starvation and social backwardness are the hindrance in their way forward.