Collective conscience to end child marriage: Need of the hour

Bivash Modi

(The author is Director, Women and Child Development, Assam)

To end the menace of child marriage in the state, the government of Assam has initiated a statewide crackdown to arrest the perpetrators of child marriage and initiate legal action against all such violators. The decisive effort of the government had a mixed response from the people at large in the beginning, but as facts slowly started unfolding, people started realising that an issue of this magnitude that had severely impacted women over the past few decades needed to be dealt with with two-pronged strategies such as stricter enforcement of the laws and effective implementation of policies linked with the social justice system.

MAGNITUDE

The magnitude of the problem can be understood by data related to child marriage and consequential aspects such as teenage pregnancy, the vicious cycle of malnutrition, dropout of adolescent girls, low employability among girls, and so on and so forth. As per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5 data, in Assam, 31.8% of women between the ages of 20 and 24 were married before their legal age of marriage, which is 18 years. Nationally, the rate of child marriage is 25.4% and on a declining trend, whereas in Assam it is on an increasing trend and the rate was 30.8% as per the NFHS 4 data. It is said that if the trend continues, then the rate will further go up to 33% by the end of the year 2025. Within the state, there are districts where the rate is alarmingly high. In Dhubri and South Salmara Mankachar districts, the rate of child marriage is 50.8% and 44.7%, respectively. There are as many as 17 districts where the rate of child marriage is higher than the national average.

The consequential teenage pregnancy rate in Assam is 16.8%, which again is high compared to the national average of 6.8% as per NFHS 5 data. It can be assumed that it is even higher in those districts where the rate of child marriage is higher when compared with the state and national averages. In the case of Dhubri and South Salmara Mankachar, the teenage pregnancy rate is 22.4% and 22%, respectively.

Further, victims of child marriage are often subject to many forms of violence, abuse, and exploitation. The statistics reveal that young women aged 18-29 who experienced sexual violence by the age of 18 have increased by 2.2 percentage points from 5.8% in NFHS-4 (2015-16) to 8% in NFHS-5 (2019-20), indicating a massive increase in child sexual abuse, both in urban and rural settings.

Participation of women in economic and gainful activities largely depends on the continued education of girls and subsequent skill-building. The overall literacy rate of the state is 72.19%, and women’s literacy is 66.27%, it is even lower in rural areas (63%). As per the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) of 2019-20 estimated female worker population ratio (WPR) for the age group of 15 years and above in Assam is 14.2%, second lowest in the country after Bihar (9.4%). All-India WPR is 28.7%.

NEED OF THE HOUR

To understand the menace of child marriage, we need to recognize the deep-rooted patriarchy and resultant gender inequality in our society. This cycle of gender inequality starts right from birth and continues until her last breath. In Assam, the sex ratio at birth, as per census 2011 data, is 964 females per 1000 males, but there are districts like Majuli (873), Kamrup Metro (897), and Nalbari (898), where the SRB is even lower. The government of Assam has been implementing the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) scheme since 2015. Earlier, it was limited to three districts, namely Dhemaji, Cachar, and Kamrup (M), but from this year, the BBBP scheme will be implemented in all districts.

The State Hub for Empowerment of Women (SHEW) or District Hub for Empowerment of Women (DHEW) will implement the scheme across the state. DHEWs and district-level Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) units have been integrated in districts to work on a life-long approach encompassing health, nutrition, education, skill building, etc., which has a direct bearing on women’s empowerment, including girls below 18 years of age.

MULTI-SECTORAL

INTERVENTION

Unless we match the progress that is happening elsewhere in terms of lowering the child marriage rate, we will probably lose out on many other fronts. Dropping out of school is both a cause and an effect of child marriage. Major dropout happens during the transition from elementary to secondary education. The economic condition of parents and guardians is often attributed to the discontinuation of education. However, to make education accessible to deserving candidates, several scholarship programmes have been made operational in the state. There are targeted scholarship schemes at the pre-matriculated and post-matriculated stages that are aimed at students of minority communities, such as OBCs, SCs, STs, and Tea Tribes, as well as adolescent girl-specific scholarships.

Apart from the above, the Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG) is operational in all the 230 development projects of the state to cater to the needs of 11- to 14-year-old out-of-school girls. Its major focus is to facilitate the re-enrolment of adolescent girls in schools. Besides, they are receiving life-skill education, knowledge on menstrual health and hygiene, counselling guidance, etc. In addition to it, adolescents aged between 14 and 18 years are covered under POSHAN 2.0 in 56 development projects in 7 aspirational districts of Assam. Both schemes are being implemented by the Women and Child Development Department, and the focus is on both nutrition and non-nutrition components.

In addition to perceived economic conditions, there are deep-rooted harmful social norms and behavioural aspects associated with the issues, and many communities still consider girls as burdens to families. To address this issue, behaviour change communication is important. UN bodies like UNICEF have partnered with prominent universities and civil society organisations to work on this issue through comprehensive community mobilisation strategies emphasising engagement with adolescents, parents, community leaders, and other key influencers. In all these efforts, different community structures play a key role in developing knowledge and awareness around the issue of child marriage.

Further, to create an enabling environment and facilitate intra- and inter-departmental convergence, the state has worked out an inclusive State Action Plan (SAP) with effective utilisation of centrally sponsored flagship programmes such as Mission Vatslaya and Mission Shakti. The State Action Plan stresses the importance of collective action and leveraging the resources and infrastructures of other flagship programmes such as Samagra Skishya Abhijan (Education Department), the National Health Mission (Health Department), and facilitating effective linkages to social protection schemes (P&RD) to address the vulnerabilities and multiple deprivations. To leverage the maximum advantage of flagship programmes, the Women and Child Development (WCD) Department recently entered a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Assam State Rural Livelihood Mission to work on issues around gender-based violence, including child marriage issues. This inter-departmental collaboration will mark new beginnings and lessons to be replicated with other departments on cross-cutting issues.

LEGAL SAFEGUARD AND RESPONSE MECHANISM

While the preventive aspects of ending child marriage and the consequential teenage pregnancy require a sustained and collective effort, it is also important to enforce existing legal measures to safeguard the rights of children, particularly girls. It is with this aim that the government of Assam has initiated this crackdown to ensure no violators are spared and lawful measures are being taken against perpetrators.

To address the issue relating to child marriage and its adverse impact, the state has taken reference to three special laws, namely, the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006; the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015; and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, to safeguard the best interests of the children.

Of all other provisions, the 2006 Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) has provisions for designating state- and district-level Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPOs). CMPOs in districts are usually district-level officials who have jurisdiction over an entire district, and in the case of Assam, the District Child Protection Officers (DCPOs) under Mission Vatsalya have been notified as CMPOs.

CMPOs have specific roles—in the likely event of child marriage, if a child marriage is taking place, or if a marriage has already taken place. Recently, sensing the need and considering the criticality of the role of CMPOs, the government of Assam took a decision and issued a notification to designate panchayat secretaries as CMPOs who will have jurisdiction over the respective panchayats. With this notification, there will be about 2197 more CMPOs in addition to the existing DCPOs as CMPOs in the districts.

CMPOs appointed under the PCMA are also guided by the provisions of the JJ (CPC) Act and need to follow the standard operating procedures while dealing with victims of child marriage. Among other provisions, the JJ (CPC) Act, 2015, considers victims of child marriage as “Children in Need of Care and Protection” (CNCP), whose rights need to be protected through laid-out redress mechanisms, and proper rehabilitation measures are to be ensured. It is important to mention that the victims (boys and girls below the age of 18) of child marriage fall under the category of Child in Need of Care and Protection as defined under the JJ (CPC) Act 2015.

Regarding the applicability of the POCSO (gender neutral) Act, 2012, and the important judgement of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the case of Independent Thought vs. Union of India, the Supreme Court of India handed down a historic decision, upholding every girl’s right to bodily dignity and criminalising rape during underage marriage. POCSO is considered a gender-neutral and progressive law to safeguard children from sexual offences, and it assumes a greater importance in cases relating to child marriage. Data reveals that the chances of sexual violence are higher for married girls aged between 15 and 18 as they lack basic negotiation skills and knowledge relating to safeguarding measures.

Lastly, in the recent budget announcement, the government proposed to create a mission against the prohibition of child marriage, which reflects the clear intention of the government to end the menace of child marriage. The government, through its several initiatives, is taking measures related to both prevention and response to child marriage. It is our collective conscience, irrespective of men and women or boys and girls, that needs to be awakened to see child marriage as a crime perpetrated against the children that robs them of their childhood, which essentially includes their education, recreation, leisure, physical health, mental health, and overall development.