CHILD MARRIAGE:- GIRL NOT BRIDE

WHAT IS CHILD MARRIAGE?

Child “marriage” is a human rights violation that impacts women and girls, along with their families and communities, in a variety of overlapping ways. There are two forms of child marriage- In first form a child usually a girl of age less than 15 is forced to marry an adult older man whereas in second form of practice of child marriage is that in which the parents of the two children (the girl and boy) arrange a future marriage.

Over 720 million women and girls alive today were married before age 18. Regardless of where in the world she lives, child “marriage” deprives a girl of a future in which she can reach her full potential and furthers a dangerous cycle of oppression and harm.

The custom of child marriage is widespread in parts of Africa, Asia, Oceania and South America. In most of the cases first form of child marriage is visible i.e marriage-partner is a child, usually the female, because of the importance that is placed upon her virginity, the perceived inability for her to work for money and since woman’s reproductive life is considered to be shorter than that of man’s.

It is observed that child marriages are most common in developing countries as compared to developed countries due to high levels of poverty, cultural norms, and lax, if any, laws — but it doesn’t only happen there. While many countries have 18 as the minimum marriageable age, most allow younger children to marry with parental consent, according to the World Policy Center, and at least 13 countries have exceptions to the minimum age of marriage in cases where a girl is pregnant.

“No girl should be robbed of her childhood, her education and health, and her aspirations. Yet today millions of girls are denied their rights each year when they are married as child brides,”

- Michelle Bachelet, M.D., Executive Director of UN Women.

CHILD MARRIAGE IN INDIA

Child marriage is widespread in India. Almost half of the women in present age India were married when they were less than 18 years of age.The country is known to have the largest number of child brides.The problem of child marriage in India remains rooted in a complex matrix of religious traditions, social practices, economic factors and deeply rooted prejudices. Regardless of its roots, child marriage constitutes a gross violation of human rights, leaving physical, psychological and emotional scars for life. Sexual activity starts soon after marriage- most of the child brides refer to their first sexual experience as painful and forced, and pregnancy and childbirth at an early age can lead to maternal as well as infant mortality-”A child bride of 14 says the baby keeps on crying, I don’t know what to do, I cannot sleep”. Moreover, women who marry younger are more likely to experience domestic violence within the home.

DRIVER’S OF CHILD MARRIAGE

No matter where in the world child marriage happens, its drivers are similar — poverty, “family honor,” and conflict. But the common driver in all these contexts is gender inequality.

Poverty: Poor families ‘sell’ their children through marriage either to settle debts or to make some money and escape the cycle of poverty. In cultures that do not see girls and women as potential wage earners, they’re may be considered a financial burden to the family. In these cases, families living in poverty who have several children may arrange a marriage for their child to reduce their economic burden: One less daughter to take care of means one less mouth to feed and one less education to pay for. Girls may also married off to offset debts or settle conflicts, effectively acting as a substitute for money.Child marriage fosters poverty, as it is certain that girls who marry at young will not be properly educated or skilled to be in the placed well at workforce.

Protecting a girl's Sexuality: In cultures like India a girl's virginity often runs parallel with “family’s honour” . It is believed that marrying a young girl will ensure that her virginity is only owned by the husband and the family’s honour will be preserved.One mother in Bangladesh explained, “she knew it was wrong to marry [her daughter off] very early, but … marriage is seen as a cover of respect and protection by women. By not going to school, it reduces the risk of being sexually active outside the house or being harassed while commuting.”

Gender Discrimination: Child marriage is a product of cultures that devalue women and girls and discriminate them. “The discrimination,” according to a UNICEF report on “Child Marriage and the Law,” “often manifests itself in the form of domestic violence, marital rape, and deprivation of food, lack of access to information, education, healthcare, and general impediments to mobility.” These are the gender biased dynamics in the male dominated Indian families.

Girls who are sexually active before marriage are considered "ruined" or "unsuitable" for marriage in some cultures, and, as a result, families marry off their young daughters to ensure they remain virgins until marriage, prevent babies out-of-wedlock, and maximize their childbearing years. In cultures where female subservience is valued, a younger girl may be seen as more ideal for marriage, because she can be more easily controlled and shaped into an obedient wife.

Dowry: Customs like dowry are causing a burden on the family as the parents have to give a huge amount of money, jewels and / or land to marry their daughter. It may be beneficial to arrange an early marriage for a girl to negotiate a lower bride price, or to simultaneously arrange a younger daughter’s marriage together with an older daughter's — a sort of cheaper, “package deal.” An example of this occurred in Yemen: a 13-year-old girl married a man twice her age, while her brother married her husband’s sister. The girl died four days later from internal bleeding likely due to sexual activity.It is also considered better to make a match with a man demanding less bride price than an eligible one. Many a time, men who have lost their wives or are separated or divorced, or very old men take less dowry and so a girl who is a minor is forced to live with a matured and experienced man.

CONSEQUENCES OF CHILD MARRIAGE

Child brides are more prone to domestic violence as they do not have mental maturity to understand the responsibility put on them and how to tackle them.They often turn into puppets controlled by their husbands or in-laws to whom they are passed onto as a “property” to be treated as they(in -laws) wish.They are follow their husbands or in-laws commands without any questions asked and ar expected to cater their every whim. Child brides are often pulled out of school and denied further education as it is highly likely their husbands wont like them to be educated and want them to take care of the household.they are expected to turn to a women at the age of a girl in a matter of hours. Their children are also more likely to be illiterate.

Married girls may be more likely to contract sexually transmitted disease, including HIV/ AIDS, than unmarried girls. Young girls are more physically susceptible to STDs, have less access to reproductive education and health services and are often powerless to demand the use of contraceptives.

Child marriages are also one of the root causes of early pregnancies ,deaths and other such issues.Globally, complications from pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death among girls ages 15-19 years old, with an estimated 70,000 girls dying each year of pregnancy and childbirth related complications. A baby born to an adolescent mother between 15-19 years old is at significantly greater risk of infant mortality, with stillbirths and newborn deaths at 50 percent higher rates than for mothers who gave birth at age 20 and older.

A girl’s body is not physically developed enough to give birth. Early childbearing can also result in an increased risk of miscarriage, difficulties during labor, postpartum hemorrhaging and obstetric fistula, which can occur when a mother gives birth before her body is physically ready to do so. 90 percent of girls age 15-19 who give birth are already married, underscoring the role of child marriage in perpetuating this crisis in women’s health. Additional barriers preventing young girls from accessing medical care also prevent young girls from receiving adequate care and medical advice throughout their pregnancy.

By :- MANSI MEHROTRA