Teen marriage and consent with a cost
The Delhi High Court order allowing a girl of just over 15 years to live with her husband, citing the Sharia, is surprising as it is in contravention of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the legal marriageable age of a girl in India. While the court may have taken the humane view because the girl is pregnant, the hostile circumstances of her home, her religious mores, and that she had married the lover of her own will, the order opens up a debate on the legally permissible age for marriage for different communities.
The court is explicit that the girl, who had “attained the age of puberty could marry without the consent of her parents and had the right to reside with her husband even when she is less than 18 years...” It implies that her consent matters, which is important. But such a ruling could prompt more such marriages of minor girls in the Muslim community, where the girl’s ‘consent’ could be overridden in a patriarchal setup. There is already a sharp spike in the number of child marriages due to the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Such a trend could impact the education and health of girls in the community. Teenage marriages disrupt a girl’s education, leave her unemployable and financially dependent, and affect the social and economic development of the community at large. More importantly, the girl’s health suffers: it is proven that an adolescent girl’s body is not mature enough for pregnancy, nor is her mind ready for motherhood. Teenage pregnancies entail risks of premature labour, low birth weight and undernourished babies, miscarriages and also impact the infant’s nutrition.
Though early marriages are on the decline, at least 27% of women in India are married before the legal age of 18 years, and 7% bear children, the community no bar. Considering the negatives of teenage marriages and pregnancies, court orders based on outdated laws do little good for the national development index. Such laws were suitable for a certain era and deserve a relook to sync with today’s realities.