Row Over Pregnancy Tests On Brides Ahead Of Madhya Pradesh Mass Wedding
NDTV
The mass wedding under the Mukhyamantri Kanya Vivah/Nikah Yojana was conducted in Gadsarai area of Dindori, Madhya Pradesh. Five of the 219 girls did not get married on Saturday after their tests came positive.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's mass wedding scheme for women from economically weaker sections has landed in controversy after some of the brides were made to take pregnancy tests. Five of the 219 girls did not get married on Saturday after their tests came positive. The matter has generated a huge political controversy as pregnancy tests are not supposed to be conducted on the women. The Congress has questioned who ordered the tests.
The mass wedding under the Mukhyamantri Kanya Vivah/Nikah Yojana was conducted in Gadsarai area of Dindori.
One of the women whose pregnancy test had come positive, said she had started living with her fiance before the wedding. "My pregnancy test came positive. Possibly due to this my name was dropped from the final list, although officials have given me no clear cut reason," she added.
"Never in the past has such tests been conducted," said Medani Marawi, the sarpanch of Bachchargaon village. "It is an insult to the girls, who now stand maligned before their families," he added.