Definitions of Child Marriage

UNICEF defines child marriage as a formal marriage or union before 18 years of age. [4] UN Women defines child marriage as a forced marriage before 18 years of age because they believe children under age 18 are incapable of giving their consent. [5] [edit]History

of Child Marriage
Turmoil

[edit]Political

Child marriage, also known as Bal Vivaha, is believed to have begun during the medieval ages of India. At this time, the political atmosphere was turbulent and ruled by Delhi Sultans in anabsolute monarchy government. The sultans had an extreme commitment to their religion and forced many to convert, causing socio-cultural unrest, and Hindu women suffered the most. These days of the Delhi Sultans produced practices such as child marriage and lowered the status of women even further. They invented the ill omen of giving birth to a female baby and believed that young unmarried girls caused disaster. Child marriage became a widespread cultural practice with various reasons to justify it, and many marriages were performed while the girl was still an infant.

UNICEF defines child marriage as marriage before 18 years of age and considers this practise as a violation of human rights. The harmful consequences of child marriage are segregation from family and friends, limiting the child's interactions with the community and peers, lack of opportunities for education. Girl children often face situations of bonded labour, enslavement, commercial sexual exploitation and violence as a result of child marriage. Because of lack of protection child brides are often exposed to serious health risks, early pregnancy, and various STDs especially HIV/AIDS. There are many reasons why parents consent to child marriage such as economic necessity, male protection for their daughters, child bearing, or oppressive traditional values and norms. Globally more than one third of the women between the ages 20-24 were married before they reached the age of 18. Approximately 14 million adolescent girls between the ages 15-19 give birth each year. Girls in this age group are twice more likely to die during child birth than women in their twenties. Rate of child marriage are higher in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. According to the 2001 census there are 1.5 million girls, in India, under the age of 15 already married. Of these, 20% or approximately 300,000 are mothers to at least one child. The 2001 census also estimated the average age of marriage has risen to 18.3 for females. The male average is 22.6 years. But child marriage is still widespread across the

nation. States like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Andra Pradesh still have average age of marriage below the legal age of eighteen for females. Because of the early and often closely timed pregnancies before their bodies are able to handle the stress of pregnancy, adolescent mothers give birth prematurely or to low weight babies. The health of the child and mother are at risk and often they do not survive. Child marriage also makes girls more vulnerable to domestic violence, sexual abuse and inability to complete primary education. It is also found that infant mortality rates are higher than the national average in the states where child marriage is highly prevalent. According to NFHS-III survey 47.3% of women aged 20-24 were married by age 18. Of these, 2.6 percent were married before they turned 13, 22.6 percent were married before they were 16, and 44.5 percent were married when they were between 16 and 17. In some states the percentage is quite high: Rajasthan 65.2%, Uttar Pradesh 58.6%, Madhya Pradesh 57.3%, Jharkhand 63.2%, Chhattisgarh 55%, Bihar 69% and Andra Pradesh 54.8%.The states where prevalence is low are Himachal Pradesh 12.3%, Punjab 19.7%, and Kerala 15.4%. Child marriage in India has grave implications for population control as adolescent brides are likely to have high fertility and a number of unwanted pregnancies. States where child marriage is most prevalent is also where there is the highest population. Child marriage is low among women who have had access to higher education and secondary education. Marriages in India are often unregistered, and are socially binding if not legally, which makes it hard to survey. In 2006 the government of India update legislations regarding child marriage and passed the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.
According to the UNICEF standards, matrimony of one or both male and female below the age of 18 is considered child marriage. However, in the Indian context (where the practice of child marriage is deeply rooted), the term child marriage has a different connotation. In most of the cases there is a huge gap between the age of the bride and the groom, with the groom being well above the legal age of marriage (21) and the bride being below the age of 12. The primary reason for this is the importance attached to a girl's chastity and virginity. It is considered safer to marry a girl before the age of puberty to assure that she remains a virgin at the time of consummation. This affinity with the idea of virginity is due to historical texts which emphasise the importance of marrying a girl at a tender age so that she doesn't get the opportunity to wander away with her youth.

Another significant reason for the practice of child marriage was the fact that Muslim rulers used to rape and abduct young girls. Thus, it was considered safer to get them married before any such incident could happen. However, what is shocking is the fact that although the pretext for the practice of child marriage doesn't exist today, the practice is still followed. Despite laws against child marriage, it is very much an integral part of many villages of India. If we believe the data provided by innumerable surveys and researches conducted by many NGOs, in India, roughly 47.6 percent of girls are married by the age of eighteen. The practice is particularly rampant in states like UP, Rajasthan, MP, Bihar and West Bengal. The reason for this are the deep rooted social issues that often lead to evil practices, making the eradication of such practices a tedious task. The factors that lead to existence of child marriage even in today's India are many - traditional gender norms, the value of virginity and parental concerns surrounding premarital sex, pressure of marriage transactions (or dowry), and poverty, etc. Approximately 6.4 million Indians under the age of 18 are married and 130,000 girls under 18 have become widows. Women are the main victims of this evil practice. The Muslim invaders of the past have now been replaced with superstitions like - any girl reaching puberty without getting married will fall prey to sexual depredations, having sex with a virgin girl can cure syphilis, gonorrhea and other sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS. Another vital reason for child marriage is poverty. The practice is mainly followed by the poor who take it as an opportunity to reduce the numbers of mouths to feed. Younger grooms demand for lesser dowry, hence reducing the burden on the girl's father. As the custom goes, a married girl is immediately separated from her family and is taken to her new husband's home, where she is used as free labour, a sex object and a reproductive machine. The girl's health is put at risk or rather not considered at all. As soon as the girl reaches the age of puberty, she is expected to consummate and produce a male offspring so that the lineage of the family is continued. These girls are highly prone to malnutrition and STDs. Early pregnancy, extreme living conditions, etc. lead to other problems like increase in infant mortality rate, birth of weaker children, and death of the mother. The want of a male heir makes the life of women worse, because she is expected to procreate till the time she delivers a male child. The worse fact is that although there are laws against the practice of child marriage (The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 (PCMA); The Child Marriage Restraint Act in 1929 (CMRA) [6], also popularly known as the Sarda Act), there are so many loopholes in it that it has become almost impractical to have such laws.

Thus, it is suggested that if the Indian society and the government want to curb such a practice, it has to aim at coming up with stringent and easily enforceable laws. Currently, the police cannot arrest the offenders without applying for the magistrate's order. Another problem is the fact that registration of marriage is not compulsory in India. Appointment of anti-child marriage offices in every zilla panchayat, mass awareness about the hazards due to the practice of child marriage, spread of education etc are other steps which could be taken in order to remove this evil practice from the country. Recently, the Supreme Court has ordered the compulsory registration of marriages. This comes as a beacon of hope. If the Indian society as a whole, especially the educated and aware people in the urban sector take up the task of removal of this malpractice, there could be hope for a better future for many of these innocent girls who learn how to bear a child before they learn what it means to be a woman.