History, Causes and Consequences of Child Marriages

History, Causes and Consequences of Child Marriages “Child Marriage is the marriage of the individual before they attain the age of adulthood. According to Indian Law, the age of marriage for girls is 18 years and for boys, it is 21 years. Marriage below this reserved age is considered child marriage which is illegal.”

Introduction: Despite being a developing country, there are certain parts of society that practise norms which are harmful as well as have harmful consequences. One of those social norms is Child Marriage, many people still practice this and even proudly announce them. It is one of the burning problems of India, for which many different campaigns, Schemes, and laws are made but they are of no use since people don’t want to understand that these kinds of practices are harmful to society as well their children. For law aspirants and working legal professionals, it is necessary to know everything related to such social mispractices and evils in order to eradicate them, the responsibility of taking action against the illegal and harmful practices and bringing justice to the victims and society falls on Lawyers and the Indian legal system. This requires a lot of knowledge and skills for which there are a number of free online law certification courses available to help the law students and get them a step closer to their duties.

History of Child Marriage: The history of child marriage lies deep in the roots of ancient India, many exclaimed that the practice started after the arrival of the Mughals and many states that the act was still in practice before in India. But the

custom of child marriage was ruining not only girls' life but also shortening their lifespan and deteriorating their mental health. In ancient times the status of women was very low, they were not considered a part of the society. Numerous other customs such as sati, purdah, and the killing of female infants and girl children, were plaguing the Indian society, which resulted in the child marriage by parents claiming to protect their children, but they were actually getting rid of their own responsibilities. During British rule, many revolutionaries tried to stop this practice and it brought the subject in front of the people. During the formation of the Indian Penal code in 1860, a law was formed against the practice of child marriage but it was of no use. Many online Law certification courses mention the name of all revolutionaries and fighters who fought against this custom in their courses to make learners aware of all struggles behind finding solutions to this social problem.

Causes of Child Marriage: The causes of child marriage are not one, there are many reasons people still follow this custom, some of the reasons are mentioned below; Poverty: Poverty is a factor that causes a lot of mishappening and social problems in our country, one of which is child marriage. Poverty-stricken parents choose child marriage as an alternate way to get rid of their responsibility towards their girl child. Responsibilities such as proper education, and a proper life are too much for them, sadly they’d rather spend that money they own on their male child. Then some people also marry off their daughters to their debtors so that they can get free from the debt, also people offer money to these people to marry their daughter to a widower, an old man or a person with physical or mental illness.

Dowry: The custom of dowry which is an amount of money or other material given to the groom’s family by the bride’s family is a major cause why people get their child marriage before the ideal marriage. On the bride’s

side, people think that the more the girl the more they have to give for their dowry so they marry them off at early age.

Patriarchal Society: The discrimination toward women is one of the most influential and main reasons for this custom of child marriage, people consider women no more than an object to produce heirs that will carry their bloodline and a servant for doing their house chores. The decision of marriage is done by the male members of the family and this doesn't include the girls’ choice.

There are several other reasons for this such as social myths, poor enactment of the law, Caste hierarchy, etc. This causes the exploitation of an innocent’s life, and they are deprived of their right to childhood at an early age. Awareness regarding this can save the life of many girls and give them an opportunity to get an education and fulfil their dream and be a part of the development of the country.

Consequences of Child Marriage: There are severe and unavoidable consequences of child marriage practice in India, It is the direct right of violation of a child’s rights and freedom. This causes physical and psychological harm to children. Girls suffer so much at a very young age. After getting married at a young age, women give birth to more children affecting the population. The effect of early marriage is that girls are expected to give birth shortly after the marriage which leads to various physical illness for the girls and some even dies during childbirth. These young and immature girls are pushed into doing domestic chores and almost slave-like conditions, at the age of getting an education and playing with friends they are burdened with the responsibility of a family. Not to mention its effect on education, this leads to a high illiteracy rate and lack of exposure. This also results in gender-based violence and domestic violence. Child trafficking is also a consequence of these child marriages as people take advantage of the poor’s conditions to marry their children and then sell them for money at various places.

Laws related to child marriages are serious and the punishment is also very severe. Many NGOs and Lawyers take initiative to end this social evil and provide education to girls and save their childhood and right to childhood. Laws such as; the Child marriage restraint act (1929), Prohibition of child marriage act (2006), The Hindu marriage act(1956), and other laws, acts, and government initiatives have joined forces against this ritual. Law aspirants are choosing online legal courses based on civil, criminal and constitutional law to gain more information related to restraints against child marriages.

Without proper support from society and awareness regarding child marriage, it is impossible to end this social norm. Whatever the reason

is, no parents are allowed to marry off their daughter to someone. This practice has a diverse impact on the national economy and growth too.

The ending of this custom falls on the citizens and also the youth of India as they are the future of the country and are responsible for changing the country for betterment. The government is initiating many schemes for the birth of a girl child, along with free education and fund for their marriage, people should acknowledge these efforts and also avoid these ill practices. The Indian Judicial system is facing a lot of cases based on Child marriage and domestic violence. Facts and figures, factors responsible for child marriage, and the crime rate in this regard are being provided by numerous online legal courses in India to help learners understand the seriousness of this issue. By comprehending this serious issue, everyone should take proper measures in this regard and support the government’s scheme and inform people around them about the consequences of committing child marriage.