by Saumya Singh
It’s hard imagining that 75 years after Independence, there are still people who find it acceptable to marry off children. The recent UNICEF report declaring that one in every 3 child brides live in India was a shocking reminder of how far we are from achieving SDG 5 of gender equality.
According to the report, more than 50% of the child brides in the world are from 5 countries, of which India is one, accounting for about 233 million child brides.
This data is echoed by the Gender Inequality Index, 2019 which shows that India ranked 122 of 162 countries.
In both these reports, India is lagging behind its neighbours. This is indeed shocking, especially when India wants to become a world leader- a global superpower and a USD 5 trillion economy. All these aspirations shall remain unfulfilled if the problem of Child marriage is not resolved.
The UNICEF report highlights that the recent COVID-19 pandemic has added the potential for another 10 million child brides by the end of the decade. Economic stress, lack of access to educational, financial, and social support are major causes. Not only is this a complete violation of human rights, but it’s also a violation of the provisions of our Constitution. The evil of child marriage manages to successfully violate almost all the goals etched in our Preamble.
This is evidence that the existing laws in place and their implementation are ineffective. The pertinent law here- PCMA is full of lacunae; it puts the onus of annulment on the child bride within 2 years of attaining majority otherwise, the marriage would not be considered void. The shocking aspect here is that the law doesn’t apply to the Muslim community and that child marriages are not voidable according to civil law. This is the loophole that many take advantage of.
Mass ceremonies held recently in Madhya Pradesh for child marriages were attended by prominent politicians from various parties. This is preposterous. It’s a glaring example of how lack of proper implementation and social awareness, can make laws toothless.
This data is even supported by the UNICEF report that shows that majority of the child brides were in 5 states- Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
There exists a deep interconnection between the performance of states on socio-economic indicators and prevailing gender issues. The above-mentioned states, according to the recently published NFHS-5 have poor performance in literacy, female empowerment, access to health and reproductive services, and family planning. The Survey shows a direct interlink between declining female and child health with early marriage and lack of financial literacy.
The institution of child marriage not only eats away at the foundation of a child but also destroys the child’s future and access to resources and opportunities. Child brides are forced to leave schooling, relocate to their husband’s house and do household chores. This not only limits their development and freedom but also makes them more susceptible to abuse and poor health.
The need of the hour is to create comprehensive policies and programmes that can be implemented in a multi-stakeholder approach. Grass-root level NGOs, community leaders, local religious authorities, police officers, and policymakers must all work together to disseminate an effective social awareness campaign geared towards social and behavioural change. Access to health, educational and financial institutions must be made more flexible and affordable. District-level plans should be rolled out for better management and effective gender sensitisation. Media plays a very important role here, both in promoting these measures and in ensuring that there’s an effective representation of women and positive role models for girls.
UNICEF highlights that adolescents must be made incharge of their future and decision-making process. Hence there should be vocational and skilling programmes available in both rural and urban areas. It must be ensured that there is effective alleviation of social injustice.
In order to become a global leader, India must set its own house in order. Global leadership without gender equality is neither achievable nor sustainable. It’s imperative that the existing laws and policies are implemented in coordination with one another. Jan Dhan Yojna, Swatch Bharat Abhiyan, Matri Vandana Scheme, Skill India Programme, and Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan are all interlinked. One cannot be achieved without the other.
Both NFHS and UNICEF reports point out that the percentage of child marriages in the current generation is less than that in the preceding generation. Yet a lot more needs to be done. Achieving a gender-sensitive India must be our top priority, without it everything else is moot.
Almost 116 years ago Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossein had dreamt of a truly free and democratic India with a gender-sensitive society. It is high time her dreams are fulfilled. We must create a future where child marriage becomes a distant memory.
REFERENCES-
- United Nations Children’s Fund, ‘Ending Child Marriage: A profile of child marriage in India’, UNICEF, New York, 2019.
- https://www.jagranjosh.com/current-affairs/nfhs-5-data-2019-2020-result-highlights-findings-significance-of-national-family-health-survey-1608554493-1
About the Author:
Saumya Singh has done Masters in International Relations and Politics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She is passionate about writing on the condition of womanhood in the subcontinent and probing international issues. She is also an avid reader, debater, and food enthusiast.