CHILD MARRIAGE

                                

In India, Marriage is considered as one of the most important social institutions through which society perpetuates as it is a means of establishing family relations. This social institution is expressed in many forms of rituals and ceremonies. In India, around 45 percent of the girls are wedded below 18 years of age. Niger is placed on top in the world for child marriages under 18 years of age (74.5%), followed by Chad, Mali, Bangladesh, Guinea and Central African Republic. Majority girls who are married before 18 years of age are from poor families. Most of the girls use to face problems like domestic violence, pregnancy problems and death cases. Girls who are younger than 15 years are more prone to die in childbirth than a woman who is in her 20s. The age group under 18 year has a high fertility. Child brides often show signs and symptoms of sexual abuse and post-traumatic stress such as feelings of hopelessness, helplessness and severe depression.

INTRODUCTION

Child marriage is considered as one of the burning and hot issues of Indian society. It refers to a social phenomenon practised in some societies in India, where a young girl (below the age of fifteen) is married to an adult man. One another form of practice of child marriage is that in which the parents of the would be bride and groom arrange a future marriage. In this kind of marriage both, the girl and the boy do not meet each other until they reach the marriageable age. Child marriage constitutes a gross violation of human rights, leaving physical, psychological and emotional scars for life. Usually sexual activities starts soon after marriage, and pregnancy and childbirth at an early age can lead to maternal as well as infant mortality. Moreover, girls and women who marry at a younger age are more likely to experience domestic violence within their matrimonial home.

There are many factors which are considered to be the reasons for the prevalence of child marriages. Some of them are Gender inequality, social norms, perceived low status of girls, poverty, lack of education, safety concerns about girl children and control over sexuality. Several states of India have introduced incentives to delay marriages. For example, the state of Haryana introduced the program named as “Apni Beti, Apna Dhan” in the year 1994, which states “My Daughter, My Wealth”. It is a conditional cash transfer program which is dedicated to delay young marriages by providing a government paid bond in her name and the amount of Rs.25, 000 in her account only on the condition that she is not married on her 18th birthday. As per Indian laws, the marriageable age is 21 years for males and 18 years for females.

Origin of Child Marriage in India

It is believed that the origin of child marriages is from the time of Muslim Invasions that began more than 1,000 years ago. Invaders used to rape unmarried Hindu girls or kidnap them forever which lead the Hindu community to marry off their daughters at an early age or even from their birth to protect them.

During the ruling time of Delhi Sultanate, political atmosphere was turbulent and ruled by Muslim Sultans in an absolute monarchy government. During this period the Sultans produced the practices of child marriage and considered the status of women very lower.

According to Dharmasutras, they state that a girl should be married after she has attained the age of puberty. According to Manusmriti, a father is considered to have done wrong to her daughter if he fails to marry her before she attains the age of puberty and if the girl is not married within 3 years of reaching puberty, she herself can search for a husband. According to Medhatithi’s Bhashya, it states that the right age of a girl to marry is eight; this same thing can also be deduced from Manusmriti. According to the Tolkappiyam, it states that a boy should marry before he reaches the age of sixteen years and a girl should marry before she reaches the age of twelve years.

Usually the parents of children especially the girl are often poor who enter into the child marriage and they use marriage as a tool to make her future better as a girl is usually considered as someone else’s property since birth. This happens in areas with little or no economic opportunities.

At many places it is a perception that the demand of dowry is directly related to the age of a girl. Dowry is a practice in India where the bride’s family transfers wealth to the groom and his family; it is a demand and condition of marriage. It is found among all religious faiths in India.

In some parts of India, the existence of personal laws is also a main reason for child marriages.

Reasons responsible for Child Marriages

• Poverty of Family

• Social Insecurity

• Avoiding share in Ancestral Property

• Avoiding expenditure on Female Education

Effects of Child Marriage

• Early Pregnancy-Health complications

• Fall in High Fertility Age Group

• Inabilities to Plan or Manage Families

• Effect on sexual health of young girls

• Desire for Male Child

• High difference in age between bride and bridegroom

Laws against the Child Marriage in India

• The Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929

• The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act of 2006

• Hindu Marriage Act, 1956

• Muslim Personal Law

• Indian Christian Marriage Act (ICMA)

• Legal Action on Marital Rape

• CEDAW

Directions in which the Government and NGOs have initiated efforts

• Framing laws against child marriages.

• Increasing access to girl’s education.

• Changing harmful cultural norms.

• Maximizing foreign assistance.

• Addressing the unique needs of child brides.

• Supporting community programs.

• Providing young women with economic opportunities.

• Evaluating programs to determine what works.

Government’s Initiatives

The Government of India took major steps to eradicate the evil of child marriage in the Indian societies. The Child Marriage Restraint Act was passed in 1929. Its objective is to eliminate this evil of child marriage which had the potentialities of dangers to the life and health of a female child, who could not cope the stress and the strains of a married life and to avoid the early deaths of such minor mothers. It defines such terms:

• “Child” means a person who, if a male, is under twenty one years of age, and if a female, is under eighteen years of age.

• “Child Marriage” means a marriage to which either the contracting parties is a child.

• “Contracting party” to a marriage means either of the parties whose marriage is or is about to be thereby solemnized.

• “Minor” means a person of either sex who is under eighteen years of age.

Consummation of “Gauna” is not considered to be a part of marriage ceremony. The marriage being complete before the consummation, a person may be convicted under this act, though consummation has not taken place.

Whoever performs conducts or directs any child marriage shall be punished with simple imprisonment which may extend to three months and shall also be liable to fine, unless he proves that he has reasons to believe that the marriage was not a child marriage.

Suggestions

• Develop strong support systems to keep girls in school. Provide scholarships where necessary and encourage teachers to support girls.

• Strengthen and establish community networks and partnerships involving girls clubs, teachers, elders, local government officials, women and youth groups, community and religious leaders, etc. that jointly work towards ending early marriage.

• Strengthen the role of the judicial system particularly the police, judges, and persecutors through training on enforcement of the law against early marriage.

• Efforts should be made to give-up the factors motivating child marriages, all efforts should aim at changing the gender biased attitudes of parents and society by imparting proper education on one hand and eradicating poverty on the other.

There are certain suggestions which can be adopted in order to lessen child marriages

Conclusion

Child Marriages are considered as one of the social menace that cannot be curbed easily without the support of the society. There have been demands to make child marriages void ab initio under the Prohibition of Child Marriages Act since a long time, but Indian society is complicated and complex and making child marriages void will only jeopardize the rights of women who are the victims of child marriage. Many a times the parents of the girl child forcibly marries their daughters to some elder man so that that person can give some money to the girl’s family and from that money their financial condition can turn better.

Also from the above discussion, it can be concluded that in early marriages, the girl child’s reproductive and sexual health is affected the most. The child brides suffer from high rates of obstetric complications, pregnancy induced hypertension, higher mortality rates, premature delivery, high incidence of miscarriages and stillbirths. The risks of early marriage are not just limited to the girl child alone, but also to the child that is born out of that marriage as a result of an early pregnancy. The infant mortality rates are also high along with incidences of premature delivery and low birth weight of the newborn child.

There is tremendous pressure on young wives to bear a child. Early sexual activities also expose adolescents to a greater risk of contracting Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) including HIV AIDS. Early marriage and pregnancy is one of the major cases of maternal mortality in India.

Mere legislation will not serve the purpose unless there is support and backing from the society. Uniform Civil Code would also help in preventing child marriages to some extent.