How is India trying to end child marriage? | The Hindu

Did you know that in 2020-21, almost 33 crore children out of a total of 141.2 crore people were married away?

These were the findings of the latest National Family Health Survey-5

The UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage say the Covid-19 pandemic led to a spike in child marriages.

According to NFHS data, in West Bengal, Bihar and Tripura more than 40% of women aged 20-24 years were married before they turned 18.

This is significantly more than the national average.

Jharkhand (32.2%) and Assam (31.8%) are also high in that list.

This survey also shows that 65.8% of girls aged between 15 and 19 are anaemic.

And as a result, there is an increase in infant and maternal deaths.

While child marriage has been a common practice in India, It is also a worldwide problem.

According to UNICEF, the total number of girls married in childhood stands at 12 million per year.

If this is not dealt with, 150 million additional girls will marry before they turn 18 by 2030.

UNICEF is aiming to completely abolish child marriages by 2030, as a part of the Sustainable Development goals.

It says that there has been good progress, but it is inconsistent. Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, India and Nigeria account for about half of the total child brides in the world.

According to the NFHS, girls with either or below primary level education have experienced higher levels of child marriage.

Poverty and lack of good public infrastructure are also mentioned as causes for the practice to go on.

Laws like Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, aim at protecting children from violation of human and other rights.

The Union government is also considering raising the age of marriage for women to 21 years.

But will just this prevent child marriages from happening?

Experts believe that the eradication of poverty, better education and public infrastructure facilities for children, raising social awareness on health, nutrition, regressive social norms and inequalities can help.

Additionally, stricter laws and better implementation of centralised schemes like the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao is required to put a stop to this.

Several states encourage girl children to pursue higher studies through financial aid and other schemes.

More child marriage prohibition officers are also being appointed by the states to spread awareness not only about the legality but also about the health risks in child marriage.

These measures have resulted in the steady decline of child marriage in states like Madhya Pradesh Rajasthan, Haryana, Odisha.

States like Kerala and Tamil Nadu, that have higher literacy levels and better health and social indices, have fared much better on this score.

Though NFHS data says that child marriage has declined by 3.5% points in the last 5 years, India still has some way to go before the practice is well and truly abolished.

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