According to Annual Health Survey 2010-11, Jharkhand ranks third among States witnessing highest number of child marriages in India. Unfortunately, no case of child marriage is registered here under The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 till date, as per United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). The fact is a challenging issue as more than 50 per cent cases are prevalent in the State, indicates the data of Annual Health Survey.
State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) officials say this problem cannot be solved unless awareness campaigns are not held regularly by the State Government.
NGOs like Child Rights and You (CRY) and life Education and Development Support (lEADS) working in the State feel it is a social custom prevalent in several communities. “Child marriage is now a tradition. It becomes difficult for us to explain the illiterate rural people that this tradition is against law,” said UNICEF child protection officer Priti Srivastava.
Highlighting more over this scenario State Social Welfare, Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi said, “Child marriage is not a new concept among both urban and rural families. Awareness is required. That is difficult because families prefer following the tradition rather than raising voice against this custom.”
“There is a communication gap in this aspect. Children are usually not aware on whom to approach when they are forced in the chain of marriage. Police is the best help to reach out. Social Welfare, Women and Child Development should conduct awareness campaigns in schools so that children can convince their parents when they are told to get married,” said SCPCR member Sanjay Mishra.
As per an official data, 1.8 lakh child marriages are held in the State every year. United Nations defines child marriage as a forced marriage before 18 years of age because they believe children under age 18 are incapable of giving their consent. In India, the first legislation forbidding child marriage known as Child Marriage Restraint Act (CMRA) was first introduced in 1929 which primarily focused on restraining the solemnization of child marriages.
“Most of the people are not aware of the laws preventing child marriage. Moreover, the issue is not much prioritised by the people of society, State and NGOs. It should be a political agenda,” said eastern region CRY associate general manager Sushanto Chakraborty.
Adding further, Abhik Bhattacharya, senior manager of CRY said, “We are constantly grappling with issues like dubious birth certificate, non-registration of marriage, absence of marriage certificate, mass marriages and delay in issuing an injunction order by Magistrate which creates difficulty in terming the child marriage contract void.”
Sushanto also focused on the rarest of rare case registered in India. He said, “Be it Rajasthan or West Bengal, very few girls take the courage to approach us. We claim to live in a world of gender equality but in reality it is not so. Parents feel daughters a
burden.”
Recently, a survey report on necessity of Gender Responsive Budget in Jharkhand prepared by lEADS reveals that government schemes like laxmi ladli Yojna can be helpful only if such schemes are related with state’s budget. “Child marriages are happening. Minor girls as a result conceive when they have just attained puberty. This affects their health. As a result, either the baby or mother dies at the time of delivery,” said lEADS Director AK Singh.