Assam Crackdown on Child Marriage

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in News? 
• Child Marriages in India
• Global Scenario w.r.t. Child Marriage
• Legal Interventions w.r.t. Child Marriage
• Schemes/Policies for Preventing Child Marriage
• News Summary
• Under what laws are the arrests being made in Assam?
• What is the Debate on Muslim age of Marriage?
• Judiciary’s Opinion of Increasing Minimum Age of Girls for Marriage
• Centre’s Opinion of Increasing Minimum Age of Girls for Marriage

 

Why in News?  

• Over the last few days, Assam has arrested over 2,000 men in a state-wide crackdown on child marriages that have taken place in the state.

 

Child Marriages in India

• In India, child marriage reduced from 47.4% in 2005-06 to 26.8% in 2015-16. 
• In the last five years, it declined by 3.5% points to reach 23.3% in 2020-21, according to the latest National Family Health Survey-5 data.
• There is a growing trend for decline in the overall prevalence of child marriage, but 23.3% is still a disturbingly high percentage in a country with a population of 141.2 crore.
• Eight States have a higher prevalence of child marriage than the national average — 
  • West Bengal, Bihar and Tripura top the list with more than 40% of women aged 20-24 years married below 18, according to NFHS data.
• Some States have shown a reduction in child marriages, like Madhya Pradesh (23.1% in 2020-21 from 32.4% in 2015-16), Rajasthan (25.4% from 35.4%) and Haryana.

 

Global Scenario w.r.t. Child Marriage

• According to data from UNICEF, the total number of girls married in childhood stands at 12 million per year.
• The 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals aim to eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilations, under goal 5.
• While it is encouraging that in the past decade great progress has been made in South Asia, where a girl’s risk of marrying before she is 18 has dropped by more than a third, from nearly 50% to below 30%, it is not enough, and progress has been uneven.

 

Legal Interventions w.r.t. Child Marriage

• There are several laws including the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, which aim at protecting children from violation of human and other rights.
• In 2021, Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was introduced in the Lok Sabha. Currently, it is studied by the Standing Committee.
• The Bill seeks to amend the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act and increase the marriage age of women from existing 18 years to 21 years.

 

Schemes/Policies for Preventing Child Marriage

• Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) – 
  • Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY), was launched in 2015, in order to promote the welfare of girl child.
  • It encourages parents to invest and build funds for the future studies and marriage expenses of the girl's children.
• Balika Samriddhi Yojana – 
  • This central government scheme ensures the enrolment and retention of girl child in primary and secondary schools.
  • It aims at the prosperity of a girl's child and provides them with a better quality education.
• Beti Bachao Beti Padhao – 
  • This scheme celebrates girl children, literally translating to Save the Girl Child, Educate the Girl child. It believes in women empowerment and creating an inclusive ecosystem for the same.
• This scheme is to promote girl children’s safety before and after they are born.

 

News Summary

• The Assam Government has arrested over 2,000 men in a state-wide crackdown on child marriages. 
• Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the police will retrospectively book people who participated in child marriage in the last seven years.
• Assam has a high rate of maternal and infant mortality, with child marriage being the primary cause, according to reports by the National Family Health Survey (NFHS).

 

Under what Law are the arrests being made in Assam?

• Men who married girls below 14 years of age would be booked under the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (commonly known as POCSO Act).
  • The POCSO Act criminalises sex between a minor and an adult. 
  • The law does not recognize a minor’s consent as valid.
• Meanwhile, those marrying girls between 14 and 18 years would be booked under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.

 

What is the Debate on Muslim age of Marriage?

• Under Muslim personal laws, the marriage of a bride who has attained puberty is considered. 
  • Puberty is presumed, in the absence of evidence, on completion of the age of 15 years.
• However, under Child Marriage Act, the minimum legal age to get married is 18 for girls and 21 for boys. 
• This gap between Muslim personal law and special legislations prohibiting child marriages or sexual activity of minors puts a shadow on criminality on such marriages.

 

Judiciary’s Opinion of Increasing Minimum Age of Girls for Marriage

• The Supreme Court is currently examining this issue since different High Courts have ruled differently on it. 
  • Earlier, The Punjab and Haryana High Court in a string of rulings has held that a Muslim girl can legally marry after attaining puberty.
  • In October 2022, the Karnataka High Court quashed a POCSO case against a Muslim man.
  • He was arrested after a hospital made mandatory disclosures under the law when his pregnant wife, aged 17 years and two months visited a doctor.

 

Centre’s Opinion of Increasing Minimum Age of Girls for Marriage

• In 2021, the Central government sought to introduce the Prevention of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill 2021, to raise the manageable age for women across all religions, from 18 to 21 years. 
  • However, the Parliament panel examining this is yet to submit its report, after receiving an extension in October 2022.
• Ministry of Women & Child Development in 2020 had formed a committee headed by Jaya Jaitly to examine the matter.
• The committee submitted a report stating that the marriageable age for women should be increased from 18 to 21 years of age, in light of factors like reproductive health, education, etc.

 

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Q1) Who conducts National Family Health Survey?

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) conducts one integrated survey namely National Family Health Survey (NFHS) at an interval of about 3 years and so far, completed five rounds of survey.

 

Q2) When did early marriage of girls was declared illegal in India for the first time?

The Child Marriage Restraint Act (CMRA), 1929 prohibited marriage of girls below the age of 15 years and boys below the age of 18.

 

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Source: Assam child marriage crackdown: 2,278 held in 3 days, Opposition calls it ‘public stunt’   |  Indian Express