BENGALURU: It is almost a century since the first law (Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929) to prevent child marriages came into effect. There has been significant strengthening of laws to prevent child marriages and abuse since then - Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 and amendment to it in 2017, exception 2 to 375 of IPC and POCSO.
However, despite the number of child marriage cases falling over the decades with educated women entering all sectors, the number of child marriage cases has lately seen an uptick since the onset of the COVID pandemic.
The number across Karnataka rose three-fold between April 2021 and March 2022, and almost doubled in the April 2020-March 21 period, as compared 2019-2020 before the pandemic set in.
Officials say even urban and well-off parents are getting their daughters married off early. HC Raghavendra, a member of the Karnataka Commission for the Protection of Child Rights, blames the trend on the failure of officials to implement the existing laws.
He says they have failed to create an awareness among parents on laws and the impact of child marriage on young girls who are premature to handle marriage responsibilities and physically not prepared for childbirth. He also attributes it to the failure of the education system in creating awareness.
There were 415 child marriages in the state in 2021-22. The highest was in Mandya at 76, Bagalkot 45, Hassan 36 and Mysuru 33. The state witnessed 296 child marriages in 2020-21 and 156 in 2019-20.
WHY CHILD MARRIAGES ROSE DURING PANDEMIC?
"With many children losing their parents due to COVID, the fear of infection, uncertainty about life and anxiety about the future of kids, pushed parents towards getting their daughters married early during the pandemic," says Priyanka Mary Francis, Director, Department of Women and Child Development.
In all, 221 children have lost both parents due to COVID.
A child welfare committee member, on condition of anonymity, says poverty coupled with increasing financial woes due to loss of jobs and business with COVID-induced lockdowns also forced child marriages, as parents looked to reduce their responsibility of daughters who stayed at home.
Also, as COVID restrictions were in place, marriages were simple with fewer participants and lesser expenditure, encouraging parents to marry their daughters early.
Cases of abuse, teenage love affairs due to increased access to smartphones for online classes during the pandemic, secret marriages, cheating after reported abuse and anxiety over safety of adolescent kids too played a role.
Well-known child rights activist and Director, Child Rights Trust (CRT), Vasudev Sharma, says during the lockdown, many boys who worked in cities returned to their villages, adding to the prospects of early marriages to preempt any relationship issues.
There is also a prevailing feeling that young girls can adapt more easily with the new households if they marry early rather than later.
A consortium of seven NGOs including CRT has come up with a project "Initiatives for Marriage Adolescent Girls Empowerment" (IMAGE), wherein 3,000 married adolescent girls are being empowered with skill development training.
One of the girls, Suma (name changed), shares: "I lost my father when I was in Class 9 and I was the eldest among three daughters and one son. I was forced to get married when I was 15 and I have a two-year-old son. I am used as free child labour after wedding, expectations from me are also high. I have to wait for my husband to come home to take money to even buy a bindi."
Sharma says, "The story is no different for other girls. All those girls at IMAGE, especially those deserted, have now joined our campaign to create awareness on child marriages." Vithal Chikani, state Unit Secretary, Samajika Parivartana Janandolana, an NGO focused on the welfare of children, says lack of communication was why child marriages rose during COVID.
Normally, friends of children getting married, neighbours and anganawadi workers are the main sources of information for the authorities on child marriages. But with schools and anganwadis closed during the pandemic, information flow almost came to a nill.
The other reason for early marriages is pressure from grandparents to see their grandchildren married off when they are alive, which is part of the tradition in some communities of Kalaburagi, Yadgir and Raichur districts, he said.
Prabhakar, Deputy Director, Women and Child Welfare Department, Yadgir district, says there are many cases in the district where young adult males pressurise minor girls (neighbours or relatives) to indulge in sexual relationships with them. When the secret is out, the parents of the boy and the girl try to get them married.
Basalingappa Niralkeri of the Belgaum Diocesan Social Service Society, says that in Dharwad district, a few families from the Gosavi community are found conducting such child marriages before girls attain puberty.
Some Gosavis think that once the girl attains puberty, she is not fit to get married, he adds. In rural parts and urban slums, elected representatives often support parents in conducting child marriages.
These politicians too should be held responsible. Girls suffering after child marriages should turn into ambassadors to create awareness, while awareness programmes too should be taken up in a large scale, he adds.
WHERE HAVE WE FAILED?
HC Raghavendra, member, Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KSCPCR), says the existing laws are strong and those violating the prohibition of child marriage Act can be punished up to two years of imprisonment with penalties of up to Rs 1 lakh.
As per exception 2 to 375 of IPC, sexual intercourse by a man with his wife below 15 years is rape and they can also be booked under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
As per Section 31 A of the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Karnataka Amendment) Act 2016, the wedding can be declared void if any of the two parties is below the legal age.
Raghavendra says officers of 13 different departments are appointed as child marriage prevention officers, but they fail to prevent child marriages as they fear being targeted, especially in small towns. Officers also fail to follow up once they prevent a child marriage. The police can take up suo motu cases of child marriages under Section 15 (A) of IPC, but they too fail to do so.
He says, "Many children complain to child line (1098) about child marriages. But during our review meetings, we have found that 30 per cent of child marriages occur with the consent of girls because of the glorification of weddings in TV serials and cinemas. Their impression of teh wedding is just about wearing new clothes, getting dressed up, functions, and good food."
"They do not realise the responsibilities which unfold after the wedding. Also in many cases, parents go to different states or remote places and get children married. Officers fail to book case because of lack of evidence. The conviction in child marriage cases is almost nil, because, during their statement under Section 164 of IPC, girls do not give evidence," he says.
Deekshith, an officer at the Childline Mangaluru, pointed out, "The women and child welfare department doesn’t take a written undertaking in many cases because of pressure from politicians. They also don’t take cases seriously and many cases are compromised."
WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?
Vasudeva Sharma also pointed that, it was in 2019, the department of women and child development formed a committee to know the status of married adolescent girls, but they are yet to call even a single meeting on that, he said. He added that men should also be counseled as to why they should not get married to girls below legal age, he said.
Karnataka State Women's Commission chairperson R Pramila Naidu said that besides sex education among children, girls should be counseled towards importance of education towards their empowerment and socio economic security.
Parents should also be educated on laws related to child marriage and also on how girls are physically not prepared to give birth to a child at younger age and not matured enough to handle family responsibilities, she said.
Harish Jogi pointed that Nationalisation of education in addition to economic sops to the underprivileged could be a way out to curb child marriages, he said.
COVID phobia, financial woes and provision for simple weddings due to lockdowns, love affairs due to access to mobile phones because of online classes, fear of abuse have led to a rise in child marriages since the onset of the pandemic
(With inputs from Ramkrishna Badseshi, Prakash Samaga, Pramod Kumar Vaidya, Mallikarjun Hiremath, and Kiran Ballannanavar)