Child Marriage in India: A Legal and Social Challenge

 

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Child Marriage in
India: A Legal and Social Challenge
By Advocate Vivek Mohla, Criminal Lawyer

Child marriage, a centuries-old social practice, remains a deep-rooted issue in India despite legal prohibitions and ongoing awareness campaigns. It is not just a social evil—it is a violation of human rights that stunts the physical, emotional, and psychological development of children, robbing them of their childhood and future opportunities.

Understanding the Issue

Child marriage refers to the formal or informal union of a person below the age of 18, often involving young girls being married off to older men. Although the practice has seen a decline in urban areas, it continues to thrive in several rural and semi-urban pockets of India, primarily due to poverty, illiteracy, patriarchal norms, and lack of effective law enforcement.

The impact of child marriage is multi-dimensional:

• Health risks: Early pregnancies result in high maternal and infant mortality rates, especially among girls who are neither physically nor emotionally ready for childbirth.
• Educational disruption: Most child brides drop out of school, depriving them of education and limiting their economic independence.
• Domestic abuse: Young girls forced into marriage are more vulnerable to domestic violence and marital rape.
• Intergenerational poverty: Early marriage often perpetuates poverty, as uneducated, underage couples are unable to access decent employment.

Legal Framework in India

India has enacted several laws to curb child marriage:

• The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 (PCMA): This is the principal law prohibiting child marriages. It declares such marriages voidable and punishes those who perform, permit, or promote them.
• The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012: It makes any sexual activity with a minor punishable, even within marriage, under certain circumstances.
• The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 & Other Personal Laws: While personal laws have occasionally conflicted with the PCMA, the Supreme Court has upheld the overriding nature of PCMA in protecting children.

Despite these laws, enforcement remains a major hurdle, and loopholes in personal laws and socio-religious customs are often exploited.

Government’s Role

The government must move beyond legislation and focus on implementation and prevention. Some positive steps include:

• Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign promoting girl child education.
• Conditional cash transfer schemes to incentivize girls' education and delay marriage.
• Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS) for tracking at-risk children.

However, mere schemes on paper do not bring change unless district administrations are trained, monitored, and made accountable.

Society’s Role

Communities must come together to challenge the cultural acceptance of child marriage. This includes:

• Religious and community leaders discouraging the practice through sermons and outreach.
• Local NGOs and activists identifying vulnerable families and working with them directly.
• Media spreading positive narratives around girls' education, success, and autonomy.

We must remember that societal silence often becomes indirect complicity.

Individual Responsibility

Each of us—citizens, neighbours, relatives—must act when we witness a child marriage being arranged or solemnised. This could mean:

• Alerting the police or childline number (1098),
• Counseling the family,
• Supporting the education and well-being of girls in our communities.

As an advocate, I have often witnessed the damage child marriage does—not just to individual lives but to our justice system. The victims end up in courts instead of classrooms. This must change.

The Way Forward

To eliminate child marriage, we must create a culture that values girls not just as daughters or wives, but as individuals with their own rights and futures. This requires:

• Strict law enforcement with real-time monitoring,
• Accessible legal aid and helplines for children, and
• Empowered local governance (Panchayats, Mohalla Committees) to take proactive steps.

In the words of Nelson Mandela, “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.” Let us, as a nation, commit to safeguarding that soul.

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Advocate Vivek Mohla
Criminal Lawyer, New Delhi
www.vivekmohla.com | Contact: 9818098185 / 8920508358