Child marriages

Introduction

Child marriage usually refers to a social phenomena practised in some societies in India , where a young child (usually a girl below the age of fifteen) is married to an adult man. A second form of practice of child marriage is that in which the parents of the two children (the girl and boy) arrange a future marriage. In this practice, the individuals (the boy and girl) do not meet one another until they reach the marriageable age, when the wedding ceremony is performed. As per law, the marriageable age is 21 for males and 18 for females.

Gender inequality, social norms, perceived low status of girls, poverty, lack of education, safety concerns about girl children and control over sexuality are considered to be reasons for prevalence of child marriages. Girl children in rural areas are more affected than their urban counterparts.

However, if any partner(s) engages in marriage at a younger age, (s)he can ask for the marriage to be declared void / annulled.

Facts and figures about child marriages in India

Child marriage prevalence is generally defined as the percentage of women 20-24 years old who were married or in union before age 18. Estimates suggest that each year, at least 1.5 million girls under 18 get married in India. Nearly 16 per cent adolescent girls aged 15-19 are currently married. While the prevalence of girls getting married before age 18 has declined from 47 per cent to 23.3 per cent between 2005-2006 and 2019-21 (NFHS-5), it is still too high.

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles and publishes the data on the number of cases of child marriage registered under 'the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006' in its publication 'Crime in India'. The said report is available upto the year 2021. As per information available with NCRB, the number of cases registered under 'the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, (PCMA), 2006' during the last five years i.e. 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 are 395, 501, 523, 785 and 1050 respectively. 

Marriage systems and practices vary by region, caste and tribe. Some of the insights drawn from the data of  National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 5 - 2019-21 are as follows.

• The age at marriage in India is increasing over time. The median age of first marriage (among women 20–49 years of age) has increased by 2.0 years during the last decade and a half, from a level of 17.2 years in 2005–06 to 19.2 years in 2019–21. For men (age 25-29), this increased from 22.6 to 24.9 during the same period.  
• Child marriage reduced from 47.4% in 2005–06 to 26.8% in 2015–16, registering a decline of 21% points during the decade (Fig 1). In the last five years, it declined by 3.5% points to reach 23.3%.  
• 43% women aged 20-24 years are married by age 20, and 61% are married by age 21.
• Child marriage, when computed for the younger cohort of women (18–19 years), showed a decline from 37.7% in 2005-06 to 16.3% in 2019-21, indicating a growing trend for decline in the overall prevalence of child marriage in the years to come. 
• Girls with either no or below primary level education have experienced higher levels of child marriage. As per the latest data, 48% of girls with no education were married below 18 years of age as compared to only 4% among those who attained higher education 
• 40% of the girls from the families with the lowest quintile of household wealth index were married before they turned 18 years of age. In a clear-cut contrast to this, only 8% of girls from the highest quintile got married before 18.  
• The differentials in child marriage by religion and caste have narrowed down over the period of the survey. Child marriage has been relatively lower among Christians and other religious groups.  
• The variations by caste category indicate a higher prevalence among Scheduled Castes and Tribes (SC/STs), with 26% marrying below the stipulated legal age. However, the variations among caste categories have also been narrowing over the years.  
• Eight states have a higher prevalence of child marriage than the national average. Among them, West Bengal, Bihar and Tripura top the list with more than 40% of women aged 20-24 years married below 18. The other five states include Jharkhand, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana.

Source : UNFPA India

Effects of child marriage

• Girls who get married at an early age are often more susceptible to the health risks associated with early sexual initiation and childbearing, including HIV and obstetric fistula
• Young girls who lack status, power and maturity are often subjected to domestic violence, sexual abuse and social isolation.
• Early marriage almost always deprives girls of their education or meaningful work, which contributes to persistent poverty.
• Child Marriage perpetuates an unrelenting cycle of gender inequality, sickness and poverty
• Getting the girls married at an early age when they are not physically mature, leads to highest rates of maternal and child mortality

Reasons for early / child marriages

• Poverty
• Low level of education of girls
• Lower status given to the girls and considering them as financial burden
• Social customs and traditions

Directions in which the government and NGO’s have initiated efforts

• Framing laws against child marriages
• Increasing access to girls education
• Changing harmful cultural norms
• Supporting community programs
• Maximizing foreign assistance
• Providing young women with economic opportunities
• Addressing the unique needs of child brides
• Evaluating programs to determine what works

Government Initiatives

To eradicate the evil of child marriage, the Child Marriage Restraint Act was passed in 1929. The object is to eliminate the special evil which had the potentialities of dangers to the life and health of a female child, who could not withstand the stress and strains of married life and to avoid early deaths of such minor mothers. It came into force from the Ist day of April, 1930.

The Government has enacted 'the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006' (PCMA) in order to curb child marriages and to take punitive actions against those associated with child marriages. Section 16 of Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) authorises the State Government to appoint for the whole State, or such part there of as may be specified, an officer or officers to be known as the 'Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPO)' having jurisdiction over the area or areas specified in the notification. This section also specifies the functions to be discharged by CMPOs, which also include preventing solemnisation of child marriages by taking such action as they may deem fit; to collect evidence for the effective prosecution of persons contravening the provisions of the Act; to advise the individuals or counsel the residents of the locality not to indulge in promoting, helping, aiding or allowing the solemnisation of child marriages; to create awareness about the ill effects of child marriages; and to sensitize the community on the issue of child marriages. These authorities function under the respective State Governments/ UT Administrations. As such, implementation of the provisions of the Act lies with them.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development implements the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) component under the umbrella scheme 'Mission Shakti', wherein creation of awareness on matters pertaining to gender equality and discouraging child marriage is an important focus area.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) also undertakes awareness programs and consultations with stakeholders from time to time in this regard. In addition, Government of India has introduced CHILDLINE with short code 1098, a 24X7 telephone emergency outreach service for children in crisis which responds with suitable interventions to call for any form of assistance which a child requires, including for prevention of child marriages in coordination with police, Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPOs), District Child Protection Units etc.

Source : Ministry of Women & Child Development

Law on Child Marriage in India

Child marriage is prohibited in India as per the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.

What does this law do?

This law:

• allows anyone who was a child at the time of getting married to legally undo it;
• provides for maintenance for the girl in a child marriage;
• treats children born out of child marriages to be legitimate, and makes provisions for their custody and maintenance; and
• considers certain kinds of child marriages where there was force or trafficking as marriages which never happened legally.

What is a crime under this law?

It is a crime:

• for an adult male to marry a child wife;
• to perform or help with a child marriage in any way;
• to allow, encourage or fail to stop a child marriage (as a parent or guardian); and
• to attend or take part in a child marriage (as a parent or guardian).

Where can you go to stop or undo a child marriage?

• You can directly go to a District Court and make an application – the judge can pass an order directing the people involved to not take part in the child marriage.
• You can go to a Child Marriage Prohibition Officer for help with annulling a child marriage.

Related Resources

1. Child Marriage Act 2006
2. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme