Forced Child Marriage in India - Case Study Example

Forced child marriage in India (Modern Slavery) Research question This paper sets out to investigate the prevalence, origins, consequences, key achievements, as well as impediments to India’s fight against the practice of child marriage. Research aims This research aims to highlight the prevalence of child marriage in India, to trace the origins of child marriage in India, to highlight India’s key achievements in the fight against child marriage, to investigate the consequences of child marriage, and to highlight the impediments to India’s fight against child marriage. Research questions This research aims to provide answers to the following questions: I. What is the prevalence of child marriage in India? II. What are the origins of child marriage in India? III. Are there any significant achievements in the fight against child marriage? IV. What are the consequences of child marriage? V. What are the impediments to India’s fight against child marriage? Research objectives I. To highlight the prevalence of child marriage in India II. To trace the origins of child marriage in India III. To highlight India’s key achievements in the fight against child marriage IV. To investigate the consequences of child marriage V. To highlight impediments to India’s fight against child marriage Research methods This paper will explore both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies and data collections methods including library research, questionnaires, as well as in-depth interviews, to generate both quantitative and qualitative data that can be triangulated. Questionnaires will help to generate quantitative data regarding key aspects of the interview through a set of questions that are designed to elicit accurate information on the various test elements; the face-to-face interviews, on the other hand, will be contacted to yield qualitative data on the various aspects of the research question. Theoretical foundations This paper will draw from the subject and content of sociological, anthropological, as well as psychological perspectives to analyse the foundations of child marriage in India, while making connections with the country’s socioeconomic and political structures, as well as historical evolution. Introduction According to the Unicef guidelines, child marriage is any sort of official marriage or union that takes place before either one or both of the parties involved reach the age of 18 years, especially because a child under this age limit is not yet mature enough to make informed decisions or give consent for their marriage (Unicef 7). Child marriage has been established to be a universal concern in many societies across the world, with the highest prevalence rate in India, the home of nearly one third of the world’s child brides. Results India has the highest prevalence of child marriage in the world with nearly a third of the world’s child brides being in the country; Unicef reports indicate that nearly 47% of girls in the country are married off as soon as they turn 18 years of age while 15% of them are married of at barely 15 years of age. The girl brides have no say in the marriage decisions and despite the illegalization of child marriage under the Indian law, the practice is still rife across the country; both boys and girls are at risk of forced marriage, but girls are more likely to be pushed into it than boys are (WHO). The specific Indian states with the highest proportion of child marriages include Bihar with 46%, West Bengal with 41%, Rajasthan with 40%, as well as Jkarkhand with 36% and Uttar Pradesh with 33%; more than one-fourth of girls in these states are forced into early marriages before they reach the age of 18 years (Malika, Basu & Dhivya, David 5). In other states such as Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Chandigah, Pondicherry, Daman and Diu, as well as Punjab and Delhi, nearly a tenth of the girls are married when they are barely 18 years of age. The sociological, anthropological, as well as psychological perspectives are consistent in their theoretical foundations of child marriage, that the practice arose as way of sealing bonds and establishing lasting alliances between families, groups or clans, to preserve or destroy power between them (Rubio 8). Child marriages have been a common occurrence in many societies across the world since the medieval era, as a strategy of strengthening unions between families or other parties. Child marriage in India traces its history in the medieval ages, under the turbulent political reign of Delhi Sultans’ monarchy; the Delhi Sultans caused widespread socio-cultural unrest by forcing people to convert to their religion, and the Hindu women were the worst affected group. This was the darkest era in the history of the Hindu woman since not only was her status lowered, but barbaric practices such as child marriage were also introduced. The Delhi Sultans decried the birth of a baby girl as an ill omen and propagated the stereotype of young unmarried girls as a potential cause of disaster. In that case, child marriage evolved as a pervasive cultural practice that was justifiable on numerous grounds, thus, many marriages in India were performed even before the girl outgrew her infancy. Besides that, the Indian feudalistic society’s emphasis on honour, rivalry, and animosity led to the creation of military alliances between families and kingdoms to preserve or destroy power between them, and young members of their households were married off as guarantee that the bonds would be upheld. Similarly, the Indian society’s caste system is largely responsible for the emergence of child marriages in the country since it was practised as a way of preventing young people from getting tempted to marry outside their castes. Moreover, the child marriage tradition in India also had its social justifications as the Indians practised it as a way of protecting their girls against rapes as well as abductions by foreign rulers. Apart from that, the practice was also a way of strengthening family relations and bonds while fulfilling the old people’s desire to hold their grandchildren before their death. India has made some remarkable progress towards abolishing child marriage, especially through the establishment of a national legal framework that is spelt through a number of acts of legislation, policy frameworks, strategy and plans, as well as programmes and schemes aimed at eliminating child marriage (Malika, Basu & Dhivya, David 7-9). Legislation against child marriage in India includes the 1929’s Child Marriage Restraint Act with its subsequent amendments in 1940 and 1978, which restricts the practice of child marriage aiming to eliminate the risks faced by young girls in child marriages including stress and early deaths. The act sets the age limit for a male child at 21 years and that of a female child at 18 years of age while stipulating firm punitive measures for the offense of supporting or conniving to marry off a minor. To address the shortcomings of this act, another legislation known as the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act was recently enacted by the government of India back in 2007; the new name reflects the aims of the act, prevention and prohibition of child marriage, rather than merely restraining it as suggested by the previous act. This act made significant improvements to the previous act to reinforce protection of children from forced marriages as minors including the introduction of tougher punitive measures against perpetrators of child marriages. Child marriage has a number of fatal consequences on the children of India, including early maternal deaths, infant health, negative fertility outcomes, as well as violence, and illiteracy; early maternal deaths are prevalent in child marriages because young girls are inexperienced in reproductive issues, leading to a high incidence of pregnancy-related deaths. Similarly, infant health is more likely to deteriorate in child marriages thereby leading to high infancy mortality rates; low birth weight, malnutrition, as well as late physical and cognitive development are more likely to manifest in the surviving children born of child marriages. Child marriages are closely linked with the high fertility rates, low fertility control, as well as poor fertility outcomes data that has been recorded in India over the past years, thereby yielding the low use of contraceptives, high child-birth rates, unwanted pregnancies, pregnancy termination in the form of still births, miscarriages, and abortions. Unlike older women who can defend themselves, young girls are highly predisposed to the risk of domestic violence in their marriages since they are more likely to be beaten, slapped, or to receive threats from their husbands, besides being sexually abused (Hedayat). Finally, child marriages result to high incidence of illiteracy since by forcing young girls and boys into early marriages, the Indian society denies children chances of schooling, thereby promoting illiteracy. The country has encountered a number of challenges in its fight against child marriage including the dearth of adequate law, presence of conflicting legislation, as well as poor implementation of the existing legal frameworks in the fight against child marriage (Malika, Basu & Dhivya, David 11). Additionally, India’s deficiency of policies and plans, as well as the lack of adequate programmes and schemes are also much greater challenges in the fight against child marriage in the country. Case study: Nisha, 15 Years Nisha, a girl of 15 years old ran away from her family since her stepmother was continuously harassing her and threatening to marry her off to the first man to pay a bride price worth Rs.60, 000 (“Childline 1098 Service Case Studies…” n.d). Nisha’s stepmother does not consider issues such as the age, caste, or physical condition of the groom to be significant factors in the decision to marry off Nisha, and after missing for nearly six months, her father reported her as a missing person to the police. Nisha was found wandering in Jammu and taken to Childline where she was kept in care awaiting her parents to be located. On leaving home, Nisha had been forced to take up domestic work in a teacher’s home for several months until she had earned enough money to take her to her aunt’s place. However, because her aunt could not keep her indefinitely, she moved out as well and wandered until she was picked up by police; when Nisha’s father was informed of her whereabouts he was relieved to find her safe and sound. Nisha was only allowed to accompany his father home after he had promised Childline in writing to take proper care of her in the future, and committing to the course by revealing his physical address to the local police for subsequent follow-ups to ensure compliance. Conclusion Ultimately, child marriage is indeed pervasive practice in many societies in the world but with the highest prevalence in India, which accounts for nearly one third of the world’s total child brides, despite the illegalization of the practice and the enactment of several legislative measures against child marriage in the country. Overall, the dearth of adequate law, presence of conflicting legislation, poor implementation of the existing legal frameworks, as well as India’s deficiency of policies and plans, and the lack of adequate programmes and schemes are the key impediments that must be addressed to eliminate child marriage in the country. Works Cited Unicef. “Child Marriage in India: An analysis of available data.” 2012. Web. 25th March, 2014. http://hdrc.dfid.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Child-Marriage-and-Girls-Education-September-2011.pdf WHO. “Child marriages: 39 000 every day.” Who.int. (2014). Web. 25th March, 2014. Hedayat, Nel. “What is it like to be a child bride?” bbc. 2011. Web. 25th March, 2014. Malika, Basu & Dhivya, David. “Child Marriage in India: Achievements, Gaps and Challenges: Response to Questions for OHCHR Report on Preventing Child, Early and Forced Marriages for Twenty-sixth Session of the Human Rights Council.” 2010. Web. 25th March 2014. “Childline 1098 Service Case Studies: Child restored to family with assurance of no further harassment in the name of marriage.” n.d. Web. 25th March, 2014. Rubio, Gabriela. “How Love Conquered Marriage: Theory and Evidence on the Disappearance of Arranged Marriages.” 2014. Web. 25th March 2014. http://gabrielarubio.bol.ucla.edu/Job_market_paper.pdf Read More