Over-emphasis on prosecution, like in Assam, will not bring any sustainable change when the issue is deeply rooted in culture and social norms
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. Photo: @himantabiswa / Twitter Around 3,000 people accused of solemnising child marriage have been arrested by Assam Police since February 3, 2023. It has made headlines across India. The crackdown is continuing. The arrests are being carried out based on 4,135 first information reports (FIR) registered across Assam.
The drive by the Assam government to end child marriage has, however, generated mixed reactions. Some are of the view that mere enforcement of the law cannot be the solution. Others argue that the law has at least been enforced now and will prove to be a deterrent in the future.
The issue of child marriage has been dealt with through policy discourse, various social movements and legislative measures in India since the pre-independence period.
The Child Marriage Restraint Act was introduced way back in 1929. The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006, was brought to effect November 1, 2007, with a view to make marriages below the age of 18 years voidable and to provide relief in the matter of child marriages.
A male adult above 18 years of age who contracts a child marriage or any person who performs, conducts, directs or abets child marriage, shall be punishable under the Act. No woman shall be imprisoned.
Ineffective implementation of PCMA has always been under the scanner, as the number of cases registered under this Act has been negligible since the Act was enacted.
However, in the last one decade, a continuous increase in the registration of cases was observed in Karnataka and Assam. The National Crime Records Bureau’s Crime in India Reports 2021 indicates that 273 cases were registered in Karnataka in 2021.
Also in 2021, Assam, Haryana, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and West Bengal have also registered the highest number of cases in a decade.
In Assam, the number of cases registered under PCMA in 2013 was 1. It was 4, 14, 23, 58, 88, 115, 138 and 155 in the years 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021, respectively.
The total number of FIRs registered in the state when the current crackdown began was 4,135. In a recent development, the state on January 23, appointed Gram Panchyat secretaries as child marriage prohibition officers (CMPO). They might have been instrumental in lodging these FIRs.
The argument in support of the ongoing drive against child marriage is that it is a public health issue as the teenage pregnancy ratio in Assam is 16.8 per cent.
India has the largest adolescent population in the world. There are 253 million adolescent Indians and a considerable proportion of them are sexually active.
The recent National Family Health Survey indicates that 10 per cent of women in the age group of 25-49 years had their first sexual intercourse before the age of 15, and 39 per cent had their first sexual intercourse before the age of 18 years.
The consequences of child marriage are adverse for both sexes, but more significant in the case of girls. Child marriage among girls has resulted in early pregnancies and complications during child deliveries.
Young mothers, who are improperly nourished, give birth to immature and unhealthy children. They also suffer frequent abortions. Child marriage has a long-term impact on school attainment, maternal and infant mortality.
Child marriage exposes adolescents to several other complications. Many girls who are married young are exposed to domestic violence, gender discrimination, HIV/AIDS etc.
In many ways, early marriage restricts the normal transition process of a child to his / her adolescence and limits the scope of informed choices, avenues for skill building and pursuing individual aspirations. That’s how early marriage restricts the survival, development, protection and participation of young children.
Apart from the ineffective implementation of PCMA, the phenomenon of child marriage is attributed to a variety of other reasons such as poverty, culture, traditions and values based on patriarchal norms.
It is an established fact that the economics related to raising girl children and vulnerability owing to poor economic conditions have often pushed families to consider child marriage as a viable solution.
The costs of higher education also drive poor families to marry their daughter at an early age.
The element of safety and security of a girl, especially in her adolescent period, has also contributed to the rate of prevalence of child marriage. The fear of losing family honour in case adolescent girls elope with boys from other castes has also influenced the decision of families to give their daughters in marriage at an early age and get rid of the ‘tension’.
Child marriage has been accepted as a social norm rather than exception in most Indian tribal communities. Lack of literacy, awareness and most importantly unchallenged customs and practices are responsible for child marriage in tribal and rural areas as well as slums of urban localities.
The PCMA emphasises more on prevention and protection then prosecution.
Prosecution may only be a last resort, particularly if the child is taken away from their lawful guardian by enticement, force or use of deceitful means, or is sold or trafficked for the purpose of marriage. However, over-emphasis on prosecution like in Assam will not bring any sustainable change when the issue is deeply rooted in culture and social norms.
As in clauses (a) to (g) of Sub-Section (3) of Section 16 of PCMA (6 of 2007), CMPOs are to be appointed in every state for sensitisation and awareness creation in the community, preventing child marriages, ensuring protection of the victims.
The law makes child marriages voidable by giving a choice to the children in the marriage to seek annulment. It provides for maintenance and residence of the female contracting party.
It gives a legal status to all children born from child marriages and makes provisions for their custody and maintenance. The law provides for all support and aid including medical aid, legal aid, counselling and rehabilitation support to children once they are rescued.
The CMPO has been empowered to provide necessary aid to victims of child marriage and to produce the children in need of care and protection before the Child Welfare Committee.
As per Sub Section (1) of Section 16 of PCMA (6 of 2007), the State should appoint a chief CMPO who is responsible for developing a state strategy to end child marriage, preparation of an annual report on child marriage and monitoring the effective implementation of the law.
Ensuring prevention and protection makes the State accountable for establishing a responsive system, building collective consensus and increasing public investment whereas prosecution shifts the burden on the public. Assam has adopted the shortcut by emphasising on prosecution.
The solemnisation of child marriages is a cognisable and non-bailable offence. Hence, police have a role to play in prosecution of the accused.
Breaking the stereotype, the Odisha government has involved the police to spread awareness on child protection. The police in Jharsuguda district have adopted 44 villages to make them child marriage-free. Similarly, the Nabarangpur district police has identified 50 child marriage-prone villages for this purpose.
Police officers are assigned to conduct meetings in the community to discuss issue of child marriages, out-of-school children, teenage pregnancies and the empowerment of adolescent girls with representatives of the panchayat, parents and children themselves.
There has been a behavioural change among the police personnel because of this shift in their role which has brought them close to the community.
The sudden police action in Assam of arresting thousands of people in a couple of days has created a crisis. Instead of bringing a solution to the issue, it has generated further problems by increasing vulnerability of the marginalised, especially women and girls. Cases of suicide, abandonment of girls and family members leaving home are being reported.
Such short-term measures will never be helpful for a sustainable positive change. Rather, it will weaken the existing social movement against child marriage.
Ghasiram Panda is the programme manager of the Ending Child Marriage Programme of Action Aid India
Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth
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