child marriage

Even in this era of technological development and progress in every sphere of life, many social evils remain a stigma for the society. Due to these evils, the girl child is not only deprived of the right to live a comfortable and safe life, but her life itself is being snatched away. All the malpractices, which have proved to be the circle of suffocation and all kinds of pressure for human life all over the world, especially for girls, still exist in the form of a big problem.

malpractices in this list child marriage is also. This evil takes away the dreams of future life from the girl child and the hopes of studying, progressing and building their independent existence are ruined in childhood. At the same time, this malpractice also poses innumerable risks to the health of the daughters.

In the report of ‘Save the Children’, which came some time ago, serious concern has been expressed on the malpractices like child marriage. According to this global report titled ‘Global Girlhood Report 2021 – Rights of Girls in Distress’, more than 60 girls die every day worldwide due to child marriage. Every year in South Asia, six girls a day and 2,000 girls die in a year due to child marriage.

The report claimed that due to child marriage, at an early age conceive And every year more than twenty two thousand girls are dying due to giving birth to a child. What is even more worrying is that the report predicts that 10 million girls will be married by 2030. It simply means that the danger of this malpractice is increasing instead of decreasing.

Happy and carefree childhood is the right of every child. For this, it is necessary that every society of the world should take the responsibility of giving education, ease and dignified life to the new generation and every parent should consider it as their responsibility to save the childhood of children, to share better conditions with them. But sadly, that doesn’t happen.

It is seen that every side is unsuccessful in saving the lives of children. However, the reasons for this are also shared. They are intertwined like a warp. In the case of such evils, many aspects ranging from administrative laziness to social discrimination and economic backwardness together make the situation worse.

It is sad that the roots of child marriage in India are very deep. According to the UNICEF report, India ranks second in the world in terms of child marriage. Bangladesh ranks first in this list. A United Nations report states that every third girl child in the world is in India. According to UNICEF’s report ‘Child Marriage-Progress and Prospect’, India is among the top ten countries in the world in terms of child marriage. Despite numerous government efforts to create an environment in the public mind to prevent child marriage, this evil practice is not taking its name to decrease.

Apart from illiteracy and archaic thinking, the evil practice of child marriage is also a result of socio-economic conditions. Some don’t have dowry to give, some have so low social status that they find the only way to save a daughter from the evil eye of the oppressed is to marry her at an early age. Someone wants to marry a son at a young age because after a few years a bride will not be available.

That is why the lack of awareness can be one of the reasons, but there are many other reasons related to this, due to which laws keep coming and going, but this evil practice is rooted. The reality is that today along with child marriage, incidents like trafficking of young children and mismatched marriages are also increasing. So it is clear that this is not just a matter of public awareness. Many aspects related to economic, social and security nurture this malaise. This is the reason why this evil persists even in today’s digital world.

Although it has been claimed that due to the awareness about education in India in the last few years, people have started thinking about child marriage. But the situation in rural areas is the same as before. In the last two years, the cases of marriage at an early age have increased again in the troubled conditions that the corona epidemic has created for economic inequality, social insecurity and basic necessities of life.

The United Nations report states that in the last twenty-five years, about 80 million child marriages have been stopped worldwide, but the inequality arising out of the corona epidemic has worsened the situation and due to this the figures of child marriage can be seen to increase. .

A report by Childline India said that in India too, the pandemic and the nationwide lockdown have proved to be new factors of child marriage in rural areas. It is not difficult to understand that in such a situation many families start thinking of being free from the responsibility of daughters. Making them turn their daughters yellow at the earliest seems to be the solution to avoid all kinds of insecurities.

The serious fact is that the marriage of girls at an early age becomes the reason for their exploitation in every way. Young girls in married life are victims of sexual violence. Pregnancies at a young age and repeated motherhood harm their health. Sometimes they even die due to complications related to childbirth. Such marriages are also an important cause of malnutrition and infant mortality among children. Also, getting away from education due to child marriage becomes a major obstacle in the economic self-reliance of the girl child.

At a young age, their life confined to family responsibilities also prevents them from knowing their rights and becoming aware citizens. In such a situation, they are forced to face all kinds of abuse.

If seen, the evil like child marriage is such a vicious cycle that takes the whole life of the girl child. This is the reason that the evil of child marriage is being seen as a big challenge in every educated and civilized society of the world. It is not only a personal bite for a family or a girl child, it is also a hindrance in the progress of the entire society. The deteriorating health and safety of half the population of any country and the new generation is a matter of great concern.

Therefore the society as a whole has to consider the aspects suggesting solutions to eradicate the evils like child marriage and to overcome the hidden reasons behind the perpetuation of this malpractice. It is important to understand that no law can function without social recognition and acceptance. Until and unless conditions of social security and respect are created for the daughters, such evils will continue to flourish.