CHILD MARRIAGES

Context
A study on child marriages, based on 2011 census was released by Young Lives in coordination with the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). The study focused on 70 districts in 13 States, which comprise more than 20% of child marriages.

What are they findings of the study?
a)No marriage below 10 years of age was reported across the country.
b)There has been a decline in child marriage across the country. Marriage of minor girls declined by 0.1%.
c)Rajasthan has reported the highest incidence of child marriages.
d)Girls: 12.9% of girls got married in the age of 10-17 years and 43.6% between 18-20 years.
e)Boys: 4.9% of boys got married in the 10-17 years age group and 11.2 % in the 18-below 21 age group.

Factors contributing to child marriage
a)Patriarchy and Gender inequality: Families see it as a mechanism to guard their daughters’ sexuality and virginity in order to protect the family honour.
b)Tradition: Child marriage is a traditional practice and thus often goes unquestioned because they have been part of a community’s life and identity for a very long time.
c)Beginning of Menstruation assumed as beginning of adulthood: In some communities, when girls start to menstruate, they become women in the eyes of the community. Therefore marrying them is seen as the next logical status.
d)Wrong assumption of preventing violence against women: Many parents mistakenly believe marriage will protect their daughters from sexual violence
e)Poverty: Some parents see their daughters as burdens or commodities. Where poverty is acute, families believe that giving a minor daughter in marriage will reduce economic hardship by transferring this ‘burden’ to her husband’s family.

Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 (PCMA)
Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 (PCMA) is the current law in place to tackle child marriage. Salient features of the act:
a)Definition of child: A child is a person who has not completed 21 years in case of male and 18 years in case of females.
b)Annulment of marriage: The law has a provision for annulment of a child marriage.

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