{"id":352829,"date":"2025-12-27T17:13:48","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T11:43:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=352829"},"modified":"2025-12-27T17:15:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T11:45:14","slug":"352829","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/352829\/","title":{"rendered":"Child Marriages in India- Explained Pointwise"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Child<\/p>\n

India has committed to end child marriage by 2030 through UN’s SDG, and while it has made comprehensive strides, there are still miles to go to achieve the target. According to ‘Girls Nor Bride’ (a global partnership), at least 9 out of the 17 SDGs will not be achieved without ending child marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Table of Content<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
What is Child Marriage? What is the status of Child Marriage in India?<\/a>
\nWhat are the harmful impacts of Child Marriage?<\/a>
\nWhat are the reasons for prevalence of Child Marriage?<\/a>
\nWhat steps have been taken to check Child Marriage?<\/a>
\nWhat should be the approach going ahead?<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/a>What is Child Marriage? What is the status of Child Marriage in India?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

Child Marriage:<\/strong>\u00a0Child marriage is defined as a marriage of a girl or boy before the age of 18. It includes both formal marriages and informal unions in which children under the age of 18 live with a partner as if married.<\/p>\n

Status of Child Marriage:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Global<\/strong><\/td>\n\n
    \n
  1. About 40 million girls<\/span> ages 15-19<\/span> are currently married or in a union worldwide.<\/li>\n
  2. The Global Girlhood Report<\/span> by Save the Children<\/span> estimates that an additional 5 million girls<\/span> are at risk of child marriage globally between 2020 and 2025, as a result of reported increases in all types of gender-based violence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/li>\n
  3. According to Save the Children<\/span>, about 15 million girls and boys<\/span> will never return to school following pandemic lockdowns and school closures. Children who don\u2019t come back to school are at greater risk of early marriage, child labour and recruitment into the armed forces.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"Child
    Source- UNICEF<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
India<\/strong><\/td>\n\n
    \n
  1. According to the NHFS-5 data, child marriages in India have significantly decreased from 47%<\/span> to 23.3%<\/span> between 2015 and 2021, due to several measures such as Prevention of Child Marriage Act.<\/li>\n
  2. 8 States have a higher prevalence of child marriage than the national average, which includes states such as West Bengal, Bihar, and Tripura.<\/li>\n
  3. According to UNICEF<\/span>, at least 5 million girls under 18 get married in India<\/span>. This makes India the home to the largest number of child brides<\/span> in the world, accounting for ~33% of the global total<\/span>. Nearly 16% of adolescent girls aged 15-19 are currently married.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"NHFS
    Source- NHFS 5<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

    <\/a>What are the harmful impacts of Child Marriage?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n
      \n
    1. Violation of Child Rights:<\/strong>\u00a0Child marriage violates the right to education<\/span>, right to health<\/span> and right to be safe from physical and mental violence<\/span>, sexual abuse<\/span>, rape<\/span>, and sexual exploitation<\/span>. It also robs the children their right to freedom to choose their partner and life path<\/span>.<\/li>\n
    2. Social marginalisation and isolation:<\/strong> Early marriages deprive girls of their childhood and force them into social isolation. Similarly, boys who marry early are pressured to take on family responsibilities prematurely.<\/li>\n
    3. Increases Illiteracy:<\/strong> Child brides are often taken out of school and not allowed to get further education. This increases the illiteracy in India.<\/li>\n
    4. Breeds Intergenerational Cycle of Poverty:<\/strong>\u00a0Child marriage negatively affects the economy<\/span> and can lead to an intergenerational cycle of poverty. Girls and boys married as children more likely lack the skills<\/span>, knowledge<\/span>, and job prospects<\/span> needed to lift their families out of poverty. Early marriage leads girls to have children earlier and more children over their lifetime, increasing economic burden on the household<\/span>.<\/li>\n
    5. Health Issues:<\/strong>\n
        \n
      1. Stunted Children:<\/strong>\u00a0Children born to adolescent mothers have a greater possibility of seeing stunted growth<\/span> (According to NFHS-5, prevalence of child stunting is 35.5%.).<\/li>\n
      2. Premature Pregnancy:<\/strong>\u00a0Child marriage leads to pregnancy at a younger age<\/span>, with women having more than one child before their mind and bodies are ready.<\/li>\n
      3. Maternal Mortality:<\/strong>\u00a0Girls under 15 are five times more likely to die<\/span> during childbirth or pregnancy. The leading cause of death for girls ages 15 to 19 around the world is pregnancy-related deaths<\/li>\n
      4. Infant Mortality:<\/strong>\u00a0Babies born to mothers younger than 20 have almost 75% higher death rates<\/span> than babies born to mothers older than 20 years. The children who do make it are more likely to be born pre-mature and with a low birth weight.<\/li>\n
      5. Mental health:<\/strong>\u00a0Abuse and violence can lead to PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) and depression.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        <\/a>What are the reasons for prevalence of Child Marriage?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

        Child marriage has strong roots in culture, economics, and religion.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Poverty:<\/strong>\u00a0Poor Families ‘sell’ their children<\/span> through marriage to pay off debts or to get out of the cycle of poverty.<\/li>\n
        2. “Protecting” the Girl’s Sexuality:<\/strong>\u00a0In some cultures, marrying a girl young is thought to “protect” the girl’s sexuality and the family’s honour<\/span>.<\/li>\n
        3. Customs and Traditions:<\/strong>\u00a0The prevalence of customary practices like dowry<\/span> also leads to an increase in child marriage. Generally, the amount of dowry rises with age of the girl (beyond a certain limit). So families prefer to marry their girls young.<\/li>\n
        4. Security:<\/strong>\u00a0Parents often marry their daughters off young to “secure” a good future for them<\/span>. Abuse, rape, and other crimes against girls, also makes parents turn to child marriage as a way to protect their daughters.<\/li>\n
        5. Discrimination based on gender:<\/strong>\u00a0Child marriage is a manifestation of discrimination against girls and women. According to a UNICEF report<\/span> on ‘Child Marriage and the Law<\/span>‘, child marriage a major manifestation of gender based discrimination.<\/li>\n
        6. Laxity in Implementation of Laws:<\/strong>\u00a0Laxity in implementation of laws like the Prevention of Child Marriage Act, 2006, non-registration of marriages, also increase the child marriage in India.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          <\/a>What steps have been taken to check Child Marriage?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n
          Historical Efforts<\/strong><\/td>\nIn 19th Century, the social reformers like Raja Rammohan Roy<\/strong>, Iswarchandra Vidyasagar<\/strong>, Pandita Ramabai<\/strong> worked for uprooting this evil practice.
          \nThe Sharda Act<\/strong> passed in 1929<\/span> raised the age of marriage to 14 years for girls and 18 years for boys.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
          Legislative Steps<\/strong><\/td>\nThe Hindu Marriage Act, 1955<\/span><\/strong> prescribes age for marriage as 18 for girls<\/span> and 21 for boys<\/span>.
          \nProhibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006:<\/strong>\u00a0This law replaced the Child Marriage Restraints Act, 1929. It criminalizes the acts of the person who performs, conducts, directs or abets any child marriage and provides for punishment with an imprisonment up to 2 years<\/span> and fine up to INR 1 lakh<\/span>.
          \nBeti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme (2015):<\/strong>\u00a0The programme which is implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, aims to break gender stereotypes and prevent child marriage.
          \nProtection to a child bride is also provided by the Juvenile Justice<\/span> (Care and Protection of Children)<\/span> Act<\/span>, 2015<\/span>; the Domestic Violence Act<\/span>, 2005<\/span>; and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act<\/span>, 2012<\/span>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
          Government Policies<\/strong><\/td>\nUnion Government:<\/strong>\u00a0Under the National Population Policy 2000<\/strong> and National Youth Policy 2003<\/span>, steps have been taken by the central government to address child marriage. The Union Government has launched schemes like the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao<\/span>, Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana<\/span> for child marriage prevention.
          \nState Governments:<\/strong>\u00a0Rajasthan has started the Action Approach for the Reduction of Early Marriage and Early Pregnancy<\/strong>. West Bengal\u2019s Kanyashree Scheme<\/span><\/strong> and Rupashree schemes<\/span><\/strong> are also aimed at elimination of child marriage.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

          <\/a>What should be the approach going ahead?<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n
            \n
          1. Empowering the Girl Child:<\/strong>\u00a0The Governments should take all possible steps to improve access to education for girls, like providing schools with proper sanitation facilities<\/span> and Incentivising increased enrolment in school<\/span>.<\/li>\n
          2. Proper Implementation of Laws:<\/strong>\u00a0Village Panchayats must work closely with the Child Protection Committees<\/span> and Child Marriage Prohibition Officers<\/span> to prevent instances of child marriages.<\/li>\n
          3. Social Change:<\/strong> There is a need to sensitize the parents and society about the ills of child marriage. Rallying the wider community to stand up for girls\u2019 rights will help bring the change.<\/li>\n
          4. Financial Upliftment:<\/strong>\u00a0Providing families with livelihood opportunities like microfinance<\/span> loans is an effective way to prevent child marriages that occur as a result of financial stress.<\/li>\n
          5. Community Involvement:<\/strong>\u00a0Adoption of the Child Marriage Free Village Initiative<\/span> and \u201cChild Marriage Free<\/span>” certifications for villages and gram panchayats on the lines of “Open Defecation Free Village<\/span>” under the Swachh Bharat Mission can be explored.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Conclusion:<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

            Child marriage spells an end to childhood, deprives children of their rights and leads to negative consequences for society. The efforts of the Union and State Governments, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
            UPSC GS-2: Social Justice<\/strong>
            \nRead More: The Hindu<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            India has committed to end child marriage by 2030 through UN’s SDG, and while it has made comprehensive strides, there are still miles to go to achieve the target. According to ‘Girls Nor Bride’ (a global partnership), at least 9 out of the 17 SDGs will not be achieved without ending child marriage. Table of… Continue reading Child Marriages in India- Explained Pointwise<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10391,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[130],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-352829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7-pm","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10391"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=352829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352829\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}