The recent crackdown on child marriages in Assam has raised strong criticism amongst various sections of society,&nbsp;including the media. By Feb 9 this year, around 2,763 people have been arrested in connection with child marriage in the state of Assam.

The National Family Health Survey-V (NFHS 2019-21) presents some shocking figures. As per the report, 23.3&nbsp;per cent of women in the 20-24 age group were married off before attaining the age of 18. The report further reveals that 7 per cent of women in India between the age of 15 and 19 years have begun childbearing. 

The condition of Assam pertaining to teenage pregnancy is too alarming. As per the report shared in a tweet by Chief Minister of Assam&nbsp;Himanta Biswa Sarma, in Assam Teenage pregnant women in 2022 (January to December) stands at 16.8 per cent. That is, out of the 6,20,867 number of pregnant women registered, pregnant women below the age of 19 years is1,04,264.

Critics state that the Muslim personal law permits girls&nbsp;to get married after reaching puberty and this had been a practice for decades. Thus, arresting their husbands for getting married to minor girls which in their eyes was never wrong may be unjustified. Indeed, such critics lack proper justification. Even Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia enacted legislation banning child marriage making 18 years the minimum age for weddings. The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, &nbsp;2006, clearly stipulates that the minimum age of marriage is 21 years in the case of males and 18 years in the case of females. So far,&nbsp;the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, has practically been a "symbolic act"&nbsp;only. It is under the charismatic leadership of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma&nbsp;that proper action is being initiated for implementation. 

Critics further state that by arresting the husbands on account of child marriage who&nbsp;are the sole breadwinner of the family, the government has pushed the families into poverty and hunger. Such critics also appear to be baseless as the government is likely to announce assistance for those, whose husbands were arrested in the crackdown against child marriage. It is learnt that the Assam cabinet has formed a three-member cabinet committee to prepare the rehabilitation policy and the government will decide on the same after the submission of the report by the cabinet committee.

Child marriage is indeed a social evil and needs to be eradicated. Although a law exists against child marriage, such laws without implementation will remain as symbolic acts only. The crackdown on child marriage in Assam is a welcome step taken by the Assam chief minister, paving the way for its eradication. 

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The recent crackdown on child marriages in Assam has raised strong criticism amongst various sections of society, including the media. By Feb 9 this year, around 2,763 people have been arrested in connection with child marriage in the state of Assam.

The recent crackdown on child marriages in Assam has raised strong criticism amongst various sections of society, including the media. By Feb 9 this year, around 2,763 people have been arrested in connection with child marriage in the state of Assam. The National Family Health Survey-V (NFHS 2019-21) presents some shocking figures. As per the report, 23.3 per cent of women in the 20-24 age group were married off before attaining the age of 18. The report further reveals that 7 per cent of women in India between the age of 15 and 19 years have begun childbearing. The condition of Assam pertaining to teenage pregnancy is too alarming. As per the report shared in a tweet by Chief Minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma, in Assam Teenage pregnant women in 2022 (January to December) stands at 16.8 per cent. That is, out of the 6,20,867 number of pregnant women registered, pregnant women below the age of 19 years is1,04,264. Critics state that the Muslim personal law permits girls to get married after reaching puberty and this had been a practice for decades. Thus, arresting their husbands for getting married to minor girls which in their eyes was never wrong may be unjustified. Indeed, such critics lack proper justification. Even Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia enacted legislation banning child marriage making 18 years the minimum age for weddings. The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, clearly stipulates that the minimum age of marriage is 21 years in the case of males and 18 years in the case of females. So far, the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, has practically been a "symbolic act" only. It is under the charismatic leadership of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma that proper action is being initiated for implementation. Critics further state that by arresting the husbands on account of child marriage who are the sole breadwinner of the family, the government has pushed the families into poverty and hunger. Such critics also appear to be baseless as the government is likely to announce assistance for those, whose husbands were arrested in the crackdown against child marriage. It is learnt that the Assam cabinet has formed a three-member cabinet committee to prepare the rehabilitation policy and the government will decide on the same after the submission of the report by the cabinet committee. Child marriage is indeed a social evil and needs to be eradicated. Although a law exists against child marriage, such laws without implementation will remain as symbolic acts only. The crackdown on child marriage in Assam is a welcome step taken by the Assam chief minister, paving the way for its eradication. WATCH WION LIVE HERE

Assam: Implementation of Child Marriage Act, a sine qua non !

Kudos to Sona, a 17-year-old resident of Tagarpar village, Satna, Madhya Pradesh, for calling off her wedding during her Mehendi ceremony. Clearly, the courage shown by Sona is unprecedented! Thousands of girls in India today remain unaware of the consequences of child marriage, fear vocalising their rights and submit to the mediocre decisions of their families.&nbsp;

In a country such as ours which is on a steady path of development and with the existence of stringent laws such as the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, the Compulsory Registration of Marriage Bill 2005, one would naturally assume that child marriages as a phenomenon would cease to exist. However, while the recent findings of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) have been promising, showing a decline from 47 per cent in 2005-06 to 26.8 per cent in 2015-16 on child marriage, yet, geographical variations still exist with over half of child brides continuing to live in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.&nbsp;

Sona was lucky as she was able to find support and dared to take a stand. Not everyone else is that privileged.&nbsp;

As per UNICEF’s report "Ending Child Marriage: A profile of child marriage in India" - one in three of the worlds child brides live in India. Of the country’s 223 million child brides, 102 million were married before they even turned 15.

This is indeed a violation of human rights and a complex issue to tackle. While persistent poverty, economic backwardness and gender inequality serve as primary propellers of child marriage, the act of marrying girls off at a young age also impacts their nutrition &amp; mental health levels. While families are known to still justify child marriage on the pretext that this will prevent their girls from becoming sexually active before marriage, the act in itself closes several educational, skilling and growth opportunities for girls forever. Most child brides give birth as adolescents and tend to bear more children than those married at legally permissible ages.&nbsp;

Another reason for the continuation of such a practice is the lack of law enforcement and limited knowledge and apathy among communities about legal consequences. The burden to prove the invalidity of the marriage also lies with the minor. As per the PMCA, if the petitioner is a minor, a petition can be filed only through a guardian or the next best friend of the married child (who must be an adult) with help from the child marriage prohibition officer, who is rarely reprimanded for dereliction of duty. This form of justice is cumbersome, and less from ideal as often the eco-system of the child bride (or groom) is party to the practice.&nbsp;

Thus, while India’s progress in combating child marriage over the past decade has been one of the strongest among countries in South Asia, this is the moment that calls for much stricter enforcement of the law and greater sensitisation of communities on the consequences of child marriage.

In the absence of the same, positive attempts made to empower girls under Beti Bachao- Beti Parhao, provision of life skill education under school and college education initiatives and health schemes such as Ayushman Bharat run risk of overlooking the lives of our girls who still succumb to this social injustice. 
&nbsp; 
Girls need to be seen as a special group with specific needs and Indian states/geographies that continue to perform poorly on child marriage indices need to accept this reality and launch specialised targeted initiatives and schemes.&nbsp;

It is also time to build on best practice models launched by civil society, establish inter-ministerial commitment, forge convergence by enforcement agencies on the ground to implement stringent child protection policies. All these efforts will also need to be four times faster than the last 10 years to reach our goals of no child marriages in India.&nbsp;

Left unaddressed, gender subjugation and poverty will continue to be intrinsically linked to the equitable growth and development of the country and girls like Sona who sought to be vocal &amp; fight for their rights would be the exception than the norm.&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)&nbsp;

Kudos to Sona, a 17-year-old resident of Tagarpar village, Satna, Madhya Pradesh, for calling off her wedding during her Mehendi ceremony. Clearly, the courage shown by Sona is unprecedented!

Kudos to Sona, a 17-year-old resident of Tagarpar village, Satna, Madhya Pradesh, for calling off her wedding during her Mehendi ceremony. Clearly, the courage shown by Sona is unprecedented! Thousands of girls in India today remain unaware of the consequences of child marriage, fear vocalising their rights and submit to the mediocre decisions of their families. In a country such as ours which is on a steady path of development and with the existence of stringent laws such as the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, the Compulsory Registration of Marriage Bill 2005, one would naturally assume that child marriages as a phenomenon would cease to exist. However, while the recent findings of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) have been promising, showing a decline from 47 per cent in 2005-06 to 26.8 per cent in 2015-16 on child marriage, yet, geographical variations still exist with over half of child brides continuing to live in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Sona was lucky as she was able to find support and dared to take a stand. Not everyone else is that privileged. As per UNICEF’s report "Ending Child Marriage: A profile of child marriage in India" - one in three of the worlds child brides live in India. Of the country’s 223 million child brides, 102 million were married before they even turned 15. This is indeed a violation of human rights and a complex issue to tackle. While persistent poverty, economic backwardness and gender inequality serve as primary propellers of child marriage, the act of marrying girls off at a young age also impacts their nutrition & mental health levels. While families are known to still justify child marriage on the pretext that this will prevent their girls from becoming sexually active before marriage, the act in itself closes several educational, skilling and growth opportunities for girls forever. Most child brides give birth as adolescents and tend to bear more children than those married at legally permissible ages. Another reason for the continuation of such a practice is the lack of law enforcement and limited knowledge and apathy among communities about legal consequences. The burden to prove the invalidity of the marriage also lies with the minor. As per the PMCA, if the petitioner is a minor, a petition can be filed only through a guardian or the next best friend of the married child (who must be an adult) with help from the child marriage prohibition officer, who is rarely reprimanded for dereliction of duty. This form of justice is cumbersome, and less from ideal as often the eco-system of the child bride (or groom) is party to the practice. Thus, while India’s progress in combating child marriage over the past decade has been one of the strongest among countries in South Asia, this is the moment that calls for much stricter enforcement of the law and greater sensitisation of communities on the consequences of child marriage. In the absence of the same, positive attempts made to empower girls under Beti Bachao- Beti Parhao, provision of life skill education under school and college education initiatives and health schemes such as Ayushman Bharat run risk of overlooking the lives of our girls who still succumb to this social injustice. Girls need to be seen as a special group with specific needs and Indian states/geographies that continue to perform poorly on child marriage indices need to accept this reality and launch specialised targeted initiatives and schemes. It is also time to build on best practice models launched by civil society, establish inter-ministerial commitment, forge convergence by enforcement agencies on the ground to implement stringent child protection policies. All these efforts will also need to be four times faster than the last 10 years to reach our goals of no child marriages in India. Left unaddressed, gender subjugation and poverty will continue to be intrinsically linked to the equitable growth and development of the country and girls like Sona who sought to be vocal & fight for their rights would be the exception than the norm. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

High time to end child marriages

About 2.9 million&nbsp;children in the age group of 10-14 years were reported married between 2001 and 2011, according to a report released by the country&#39;s apex child rights body today.

The report by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), based on Census 2011, is a statistical analysis of prevalence of such marriages, their genesis and geographical spread. It was released by Supreme Court judge Justice A K Sikri.

It states that despite the decline in child marriage, particularly in the age group of 10-14 years, there are 1.1 million boys and 1.8 million girls who were reported married in this age group between 2001-2011.

&quot;Child marriage violates the dignity of the child and is a major human rights violation. There are incongruities in different laws of the country dealing with child marriage and I urge lawmakers to address these disparities so that the social evil of child marriage is curbed. The NCPCR should tie up with the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) to conduct seminars in the target states with the help of paralegal volunteers,&quot; Justice Sikri said.

The analysis of the Census 2011 data identified 70 districts spread across 13 states with high rate of child marriages. 
These states are Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Though 13 districts in Rajasthan continue to figure prominently amongst the highest incidence districts with respect to child marriage, all these districts other than Banswara show a positive declining trend in child marriage over the decade.

Urban districts such as Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, Rangareddy and Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh and Davangere in Karnataka reveal an increase in marriage of girls below the legal age during the period.

Anand in Gujarat, Davangere in Karnataka and Dakshin Dinajpur in West Bengal are the districts where despite decrease in population between 2001 and 2011, incidence of child marriage among boys increased.

Women and child development ministry secretary Rakesh Srivastava said that the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-4 reported a decline in child marriage to 26 per cent from 47 per cent in NFHS-3, and hoped that NFHS-5 will find further decline in such marriages.

&quot;Recently Karnataka has amended the Prevention of Child Marriage Act, 2005 to make child marriage void and hoped that other states will follow suit. The NCPCR should conduct seminars and workshops in collaboration with the governments in the 13 states where child marriage is markedly prevalent,&quot; said Srivastava.

Analysing the reason behind child marriages, the NCPCR report states that girls in particular are married off because they are considered as &quot;paraya dhan&quot;&nbsp;or somebody else&#39;s wealth, and is often used by families to ensure that the girls is protected from premarital sex, pregnancy outside of marriage and the need to preserve &quot;family honour&quot;.

&quot;Girl children from poor households are at higher risk of becoming child brides. Where resources are limited, gendered social risks become more acute and opportunities more constrained, forcing parents to make decisions which disadvantage girls,&quot; the report states.

The report has also made a slew of recommendations to combat child marriages. Promoting free and compulsory secondary education, compulsory registration of marriages, mobilisation of religious leaders and community elders are some of the interventions proposed in the report.

(PTI)

The report states that girls in particular are married off because they are considered as 'paraya dhan'?or somebody else's wealth

About 2.9 million children in the age group of 10-14 years were reported married between 2001 and 2011, according to a report released by the country's apex child rights body today. The report by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), based on Census 2011, is a statistical analysis of prevalence of such marriages, their genesis and geographical spread. It was released by Supreme Court judge Justice A K Sikri. It states that despite the decline in child marriage, particularly in the age group of 10-14 years, there are 1.1 million boys and 1.8 million girls who were reported married in this age group between 2001-2011. "Child marriage violates the dignity of the child and is a major human rights violation. There are incongruities in different laws of the country dealing with child marriage and I urge lawmakers to address these disparities so that the social evil of child marriage is curbed. The NCPCR should tie up with the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) to conduct seminars in the target states with the help of paralegal volunteers," Justice Sikri said. The analysis of the Census 2011 data identified 70 districts spread across 13 states with high rate of child marriages. These states are Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Though 13 districts in Rajasthan continue to figure prominently amongst the highest incidence districts with respect to child marriage, all these districts other than Banswara show a positive declining trend in child marriage over the decade. Urban districts such as Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, Rangareddy and Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh and Davangere in Karnataka reveal an increase in marriage of girls below the legal age during the period. Anand in Gujarat, Davangere in Karnataka and Dakshin Dinajpur in West Bengal are the districts where despite decrease in population between 2001 and 2011, incidence of child marriage among boys increased. Women and child development ministry secretary Rakesh Srivastava said that the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-4 reported a decline in child marriage to 26 per cent from 47 per cent in NFHS-3, and hoped that NFHS-5 will find further decline in such marriages. "Recently Karnataka has amended the Prevention of Child Marriage Act, 2005 to make child marriage void and hoped that other states will follow suit. The NCPCR should conduct seminars and workshops in collaboration with the governments in the 13 states where child marriage is markedly prevalent," said Srivastava. Analysing the reason behind child marriages, the NCPCR report states that girls in particular are married off because they are considered as "paraya dhan" or somebody else's wealth, and is often used by families to ensure that the girls is protected from premarital sex, pregnancy outside of marriage and the need to preserve "family honour". "Girl children from poor households are at higher risk of becoming child brides. Where resources are limited, gendered social risks become more acute and opportunities more constrained, forcing parents to make decisions which disadvantage girls," the report states. The report has also made a slew of recommendations to combat child marriages. Promoting free and compulsory secondary education, compulsory registration of marriages, mobilisation of religious leaders and community elders are some of the interventions proposed in the report. (PTI)

In India, 2.9 million children got married between 10-14 years of age between 2001-2011: Report