Child marriage act

Child Marriages and Personal Laws: The Supreme Court has decided to investigate whether females as young as 15 years old can marry under personal or customary law, despite the fact that such marriages are illegal under statutory law.

Why do we discuss Child Marriages and Personal Laws?

The minimum age for marriage is 21 years for men and 18 years for women, according to the Indian Christian Marriage Act of 1872, the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act of 1936, the Special Marriage Act of 1954, and the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955.
But under Muslim personal law in India, which is still not codified and consolidated, individuals who have reached puberty are eligible to get married, that is when they are 15 years old.
In order to raise the minimum age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years old, the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021 proposed to alter the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, of 2006.

What is Child Marriage

Any legal or illegal relationship between a minor under the age of 18 and an adult, or between an adult and another minor, is referred to as child marriage.
The legal age for women to get married is set at 21 years old by the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021.

Child Marriages and Personal Laws

Reasons behind its prevalence

Role of poverty: Poverty and the high dowry expenditures associated with delayed marriages have a significant role in the high rate of child marriages.
Conventions: In many areas and cultures, parents begin planning for a girl’s marriage when she reaches puberty. This is because of social norms.
Crisis: Conflict makes girls more susceptible to child marriage and its negative effects by exacerbating existing disparities. Families may plan for females to get married in the hopes that the union will shield their daughters from abuse.

Issues with Child Marriage

(1) Social implications

  • Impacts girl children more: Globally, the prevalence of child marriage among boys is just one-sixth that among girls.
  • Leads to deprivation: Child marriage robs girls of their childhood and threatens their lives and health.
  • Exclusion: In addition to isolating girls from their families and friends and preventing them from engaging in their communities, the practice can have a detrimental effect on the girls’ physical and mental health.
  • Academic loss: Girls who marry before 18 are more likely to experience domestic violence and less likely to remain in school.

(2) Health issues

  • Life threats: The risk of mortality for both the mother and the child increases during adolescence, when child brides frequently fall pregnant.
  • Forced pregnancy: Before they are prepared physically and mentally, girls are thrust into adulthood. The prevalence of malnutrition on a worldwide scale is primarily due to this.

(3) Economic impacts

  • Child marriage has a detrimental impact on the Indian economy and can create a cycle of poverty that extends across generations.
  • It suddenly pulls out the children involved out of the workforce before they grow as adults.
  • Girls and boys who are married as children are more likely to be lacking in the abilities, information, and employment opportunities necessary to raise their families out of poverty and support the social and economic development of their nation.

What is the situation in the world?

According to UNICEF statistics, 12 million girls are married as young children every year. The Sustainable Development Goals’ target date of 2030 is the year it seeks to put an end to the practice.

Where does India stand?

GOOD:  Declining trend

The prevalence of child marriage is generally on the decline, according to an increasing trend.
In India, child marriage decreased over the course of the decade from 47.4% in 2005–06 to 26.8% in 2015–16.
According to the most recent National Family Health Survey-5 data, it decreased by 3.5% points over the previous five years, reaching 23.3% in 2020–21.

BAD: State-wise disparity is very higher

However, in a nation with 141.2 crore people, 3% is still a worryingly high amount.
Some states have a higher frequency than the national average; the top three on the list are West Bengal, Bihar, and Tripura, where more than 40% of women aged 20 to 24 get married before they become 18 years old (NFHS).
Women who were married before the age of 18 in Kerala decreased from 7.6% in 2015-16 to 6.3% in 2019–20.

Child Marriages and Personal Laws

Laws and policy interventions in India

  • There are crucial laws that aim at protecting children from violation of human and other rights including the-
    • Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 and
    • Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012

Raising the marriage age: The Union Cabinet has approved raising the age of marriage for women to 21. A parliamentary standing committee is assessing the benefits and drawbacks of this change.
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao: The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme tries to combat the issue of the deteriorating perception of child sex ratios (CSR).
Kanyashree Scheme: Although women’s rights advocates have made a point, West Bengal’s Kanyashree scheme provides financial aid to girls who want to pursue higher education. Bihar and other States have been adopting a bicycle program to guarantee that females arrive at school safely, while UP has a program to entice girls to return to school.

Way forward

Ensure education: Make sure women finish their education: Many of the advantages can be attained by making sure women finish their education for at least 12 years.
Upskilling: Research from Bangladesh demonstrates that raising the educational level of women and teaching them contemporary skills that increase their employability reduces child marriage and enhances their health and nutrition.
Education standards used in schemes: Pay attention to programs that reduce the financial burden of marriage, but whose eligibility requirements should primarily link to educational attainment in addition to age.

Conclusion on Child Marriages and Personal Laws

  • A legalistic approach to increasing the age of marriage will produce positive results only if it leads to an improvement in women’s education and skill acquisition for employability.
  • In the absence of an enhancement in women’s schooling or skills, a legalistic approach to ending child marriage might become counterproductive.

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Does child marriage come under the POCSO Act?

Offenses under the POCSO Act will apply if either the bride or the groom are minors, regardless of whether the marriage is lawful or not. “The POCSO Act is a particular statute created specifically for the protection of children from sexual offences,” the Single Bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas continued.

What are personal laws in India?

For Indian nationals, personal laws govern marriage, divorce, support, inheritance, and succession. Different groups’ religious customs have a big impact on these laws. However, they face criticism for upholding prejudice and gender inequity.

What is the law against child marriage?

Raising the minimum age for marriage for women: According to the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act of 2006, the minimum age for marriage for men is 21 years old and for women, it is 18 years old. The Bill raises the legal drinking age for females from 18 to 21.