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Guwahati, Oct 11: The discrimination against women begins from the womb and ends with a tomb. The discrimination is reflected in their education, family, socio-political spheres, employment and workplace. The child marriage system is also a reflection of this discrimination against women.
In February this year, the government of Assam embarked on a remarkable and unprecedented campaign to combat child marriage within the state. Over the course of a month, a staggering 3,141 individuals found themselves facing arrest as part of this initiative.
The individuals apprehended in this crackdown included not only men who had entered into marriages with underage girls but also family members and religious leaders who had a hand in facilitating these unions.
The genesis of these arrests traces back to January 23, 2023, when Assam's Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, declared a state-wide offensive against child marriage, invoking both the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 (PCMA) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).
In announcing this sweeping campaign, CM Sarma underlined the severe repercussions of child marriage, noting, "Marrying a minor girl is not only against the law, but it also breaches the fundamental rights of a girl child and is quite dangerous to her health."
In the most recent wave of arrests, an additional 916 individuals were apprehended overnight on Gandhi Jayanti, across the length and breadth of the state. This effort led to the registration of 706 First Information Reports (FIRs) and the naming of 1,041 individuals as accused. Among those arrested, 551 were men who had married underage girls, 351 were relatives of either the husband or wife, and 14 were religious functionaries who had solemnized these marriages.
A closer analysis by The Indian Express revealed that 62% of those arrested were of Muslim faith, while the remainder belonged to the Hindu or other communities.
Arrest Breakdown
The highest numbers of arrests were made in:
• Dhubri – 192
• Barpeta – 142
• Hailakandi – 59
• Kamrup – 50
• Karimganj – 47
Over the past five years, a total of 3,907 people have been arrested in connection with child marriages, with 3,310 facing charges under POCSO. Those marrying girls under the age of 14 are booked under the POCSO Act, while those marrying girls between 14 and 18 years of age are charged under the Protection of Child Marriage Act, 2006.
According to government records, the cases registered under PCMA surged from just 1 in 2013 to 155 in 2021, marking a substantial escalation. In 2022, 257 people were arrested, with 3,098 apprehensions in the first two months of 2023. The National Crime Records Bureau reported 155 cases in 2021 and 138 in 2020.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has affirmed that the crackdown will continue until the 2026 state assembly elections.
Child Marriage Act
Male adults above 18 years of age who conducted, directed, or abetted child marriages faced imprisonment. The primary objective of the PCMA was to prevent the solemnization of marriages involving brides or grooms below the age of 18 for girls and 21 for boys. This legislation replaced the earlier Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929, and provided comprehensive provisions to curb child marriages and offer protection and relief to victims while imposing stricter penalties on those promoting, abetting, or solemnizing such marriages.
In India, under The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, a child is defined as "a person who, if male, has not completed twenty-one years of age, and if female, has not completed eighteen years of age." This act deems marriages solemnized between children below the legal age limit null and void. The act also prescribes penalties for various offences related to allowing or conducting child marriages involving minors or marrying minors to adults.
Reasons for Child Marriage
The reasons behind child marriages are multifaceted, encompassing poverty, social insecurity, lack of education, gender inequality, and avoidance of sharing ancestral property.
Poverty: Even today in rural areas many females and female children are denied their equality to common resources when a family is poor. Female members, mainly female children are victimised by poverty of the family. A poor family usually jeopardizes female children. Every chance is opted so that the burden of a female child is avoided.
In terms of economic status, women from poor households tend to marry earlier. While more than 30% of women from the lowest two wealth quintiles were married by the age of 18, the corresponding figure in the richest quintile was 8%.
Social Insecurity: Social security is one of the major factors why child marriages happen. Many people have this perception that a married woman is much safer from societal offences than an unmarried woman. Unmarried women are viewed with mala fide intentions that lead to crimes against them. So to be secure from these offences, assaults, and teasing against unmarried girls, their parents are in a hurry to marry their daughters soon after they attain puberty or even before that.
Lack of education: A big determinant of the age of marriage is education. Around 45% of women with no education and 40% with primary education married before the age of 18, according to the National Family Health Survey – 4 (NFHS-4).
In investment in education, male children of the house are considered as the future assets and economic base of the house that will work and earn money whereas female children are considered as a burden as they do not need to work and have to look after the household chores before and after marriage. Due to these reasons, female children are given less or no priority.
Gender inequality: Child marriage often arises from gender inequality, which deprives girls of their human rights and limits their choices in various aspects of life. Cultural norms that value female virginity can also restrict girls' freedom and decision-making power, affecting their marriage age.
Patriarchal systems – that is, systems that are controlled by men – that value girls according to their virginity lead to limits on female sexuality and reproductive choices. This can mean controlling how a girl behaves and dresses, where she goes, who she sees, and if, who and when she marries. It can also criminalize her sexuality and block her access to care and information.
Avoiding share in Ancestral Property: Generally in rural areas parents think that all their ancestral property belongs to their sons and if they marry away their daughters at an early age then they will be out of the share. If the marriage of the girl child is done at an early age then she would not demand her share. Therefore the right of females to share ancestral property is also one of the reasons responsible for child marriages.
Assam has reported four suicides in connection with the state-wide drive against child marriage. Data shows, in 2019-21 32 percent of girls aged 20-24 in Assam were married before 18 years of age. In 2005-06 31 percent of girls aged 20-24 in Assam were married before 18 years of age.
According to UNICEF, girls who marry before 18 years are more likely to experience domestic violence and less likely to remain in school. About 32 percent of women marry before they attain adulthood, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS). Only 29.6 percent of women in the state aged 15 – 49 years have 10 or more years of schooling.
According to the Registrar General of India’s latest report on maternal mortality for 2018-2020, the state recorded 195 deaths per 1000,000 live births.
Statistics
Assam’s poor performance in certain indicators in the National Family Health Survey – 5 (NFHS-5) Sample Registration System (SRS), Statistical Report by the Registrar General of India (RGI). Child marriage is identified as the prime factor behind this.
11.7 percent of married women aged between 15 and 19 years of age were already mothers or pregnant during the period of the survey, compared to the national average of 6.8 percent. The consequence of this has been Assam’s abysmal performance in maternal mortality rate (MMR) and infant mortality rate (IMR).
As per SRS report of 2020 released on September 22, last year, Assam’s MMR stands at 195 deaths per 100,000 live births – the highest in the country. The NFHS-5 revealed that Assam’s total fertility rate (TFR) – the average number of children born per woman is 1.9 percent, below the national average of 2 percent. But the TFR among the Muslims in the state is 2.4 percent – the highest in the country.
It is also to be noted that 74 percent of rural women in Assam have not completed even 10 years of schooling, said a Times of India report.
The state’s inability to provide good quality education and healthcare facilities to its women is a major factor contributing to the state’s staggering child marriage cases, the report added.
Causing havoc in people’s private lives
The crackdown on child marriage in Assam has not been without controversy, as it has had serious consequences on people's private lives. The Gauhati High Court has questioned the application of the POCSO Act in these cases, noting that the arrests have disrupted families and even led to separations and economic hardships. Suicides, abandonment of girls, and family members leaving home have been reported as well.
On 14 February 2023, the Gauhati High Court questioned the applicant of the POCSO Act in the child marriage cases in Assam, while granting anticipatory bail in one such case. “What is POCSO (charge) here? Merely because POCSO is added, does it mean judges will not see what is there?” Justice Suman Shyam said.
The court finally asserted that “these are not matter for custodial interrogation”, and said, “it is causing havoc in the private life of people, there are children, there are family members and old people.”
Calling the allegations “weird”, the court asked: “Is there any allegation of rape here?” after it saw section 376 (Rape) added to an FIR.
Consequences of crackdown
Families have been separated and/or have lost their main source of economic support. Many young women protested outside police stations, arguing that they had married of their own volition and did not wish to void their marriage.
Cases of suicide, abandonment of girls and family members leaving home are also being reported.
On the health front, some individuals opted for unsafe methods, including the incorrect use of abortion pills, to terminate pregnancies to evade identification. Pregnant girls also missed antenatal check-ups deliberately, while some opted for home births, exposing themselves and their infants to multiple risks.
Repercussions
This crackdown has sparked debates and concerns regarding its effectiveness and consequences. The Assam government's goal to eliminate child marriage by 2023 is laudable, but the retrospective approach has raised questions.
These arrests on child marriage can lead to adverse effects on women and children. A social problem cannot be criminalised and police are only concerned with law enforcement and not beyond, experts weigh in.
The issue must be addressed in a holistic manner. Other stakeholders like child protection units and social welfare departments must come together to work in coordination. Shaking up families that are already married, settled, and have children is not the solution.
Opposition parties criticize the arrests of teenage husbands and family members as an "abuse of law" for political gains and compare the police actions to "terrorising people." They argue that focusing on women's education, healthcare, and access to livelihood opportunities is a more effective means of ending child marriage.
What works to reduce child marriage?
There is no evidence to suggest that a punitive crackdown has yielded positive results or succeeded in empowering girls. Implementation of laws on its own does not contribute significantly to discouraging or eradicating child marriage or respecting the fundamental rights of girls to informed choice and equal opportunities.
Social change is gradual and the chief minister must recognize that there are no quick fixes. He may instead consider evidence-based strategies that have both empowered girls and reduced instances of child marriage.
Keeping girls in school and ensuring that they complete secondary education is by far the most effective strategy to delay child marriage, empower girls, and respect their religion.
Mentoring and guiding girls to access appropriate livelihood skills training and related earning opportunities has demonstrated that, like their brothers, they defy commonly held misconceptions about the limited value of girls.
There is a need for community-based interventions aimed at shifting traditional gender norms and, at the same time, imparting a better understanding of laws and entitlements that offer girls more agencies.
Breaking up families; depriving young women of the support of their husbands, and infants of the support of their fathers; and inhibiting young women from claiming their right to continue a wanted pregnancy or seek pregnancy-related care, thus exposing themselves to risks of complications and even death for fear of jeopardizing their husbands, are hardly measures that recognize their rights. Neither will they stop child marriage.
In summary, Assam's unprecedented crackdown on child marriage has stirred debate, with some questioning its efficacy and consequences. While the government's commitment to ending child marriage is commendable, experts emphasize the importance of holistic, evidence-based strategies to empower girls and tackle this social issue effectively.
