New Highlights:
The legality of personal law on marriage: The Supreme Court on January 13 decided to examine whether girls as young as 15 years can enter into wedlock on the basis of custom or personal law when such marriages constitute an offence in statutory law.
Various High Court interpretations:
- Punjab and Haryana High Court:
- A recent order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court states that a girl, on attaining puberty or the age of 15 years and above, could be married on the basis of Muslim personal law, irrespective of the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
- The Kerala High Court:
- The Kerala High Court had recently observed that provisions of POCSO would apply if the bride or groom were a minor, irrespective of the validity or otherwise of the marriage.
Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021:
- About:
- Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021, seeking to raise the legal age of marriage for women from 18 years currently to 21 years, was introduced by the Union Cabinet in the winter session of the Parliament in December 2021.
- Background:
- During the 19th century, the marriageable age for women in India was 10 years.
- For the first time in 1928, the minimum age for marriage was fixed at 14 years for girls and 18 years for boys through the Child Marriage Restraint Act (CMRA), 1929 (also called as Sharda Act).
- In 1949, it was increased to 15 years for girls, and in 1978, an amendment was passed to increase the age to 18 and 21 years for girls and boys, respectively.
- The Government of India enacted the Prevention of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006, which replaced the earlier CMRA with the main motto of forbidding child marriages and protecting and providing assistance to the victims.
Personal laws on marriage:
- Marriage laws:
- In India, marriage is governed by various other personal laws such as the Special Marriage Act, 1954; the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955; Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937; Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872; the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936; the Foreign Marriage Act, 1969.
- Under the Indian Christian Marriage Act of 1872, Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act of 1936, Special Marriage Act of 1954 and Hindu Marriage Act of 1955, the minimum age of marriage for a man is 21 years and for a woman is 18 years.
- However, under the Muslim personal law in India, which continues to remain uncodified and unconsolidated, persons who attained puberty are eligible to get married, i.e. on attaining the age of 15 years.
National Family Health Survey (NFHS) Data on Child Marriage:
- NFHS-4 data of 2015-16 revealed that 27% of women under 18 years were married.
- NFHS-4 also reported that 8% of girls between the ages of 15 and 18 were found to be pregnant.
- NFHS-5 data of 2019-20 reported a drop in underage marriage to about 23%, which is still a substantial number considering the existing stringent rules.
- Further, NFHS-5 data revealed that 7% of girls aged between 15-18 were pregnant.
Impacts of Child Marriage:
- Human rights violation:
- Child marriage violates human rights and dignity, which, unfortunately, still has social acceptance.
- Serious social impacts:
- It has a severe impact on the education, health, and safety of children.
- Education:
- Child marriage typically marks the end of a girl’s education.
- Once she’s married, she’s expected to take care of her husband and start having children, leaving little time for school or a career.
- Traps poverty:
- Child marriage might seem to make financial sense in the short term for struggling parents, but it can actually trap families in a cycle of poverty.
- Higher fertility rates:
- Younger brides are more likely to have larger families because they have more child-bearing years during married life.
- They also usually face a greater inequality with their husbands, resulting in the wife having little to no say in when or how many children to have.
- Inabilities to Manage Families:
- Young girls exercise less influence and control over their children and have less ability to make decisions about their nutrition, health care and household management.
- Male Child desire:
- Due to the desire for a male child, young girls and women are forced to conceive as many times as they can till she gives birth to a male child.
Conclusion:
- Drivers for social change like education, legal provisions and initiatives for creating awareness still have a lot to cover with respect to eliminating girl-child marriage. Moreover, it is a change that has to come from within.
- The efforts of the Union and State Governments and NGOs have led to a sharp decline in the instances of child marriages. However, all stakeholders should continue their efforts till this evil practice is eliminated completely.
Pic Courtesy: Freepik
Content source: The Hindu