Making India child marriage free

At a time when the entire country was glued to their television sets to watch the electrifying World Cup this year, India was intensifying yet another battle on the ground against an age-old practice of child marriage. Particularly, the prohibition of Child Marriage Act of 2006 which has not been very active since its inception got a new life because of injunctions.

The Act has been in place and yet the country has been dealing with the issue of child marriage. But 2023 saw a sea change in the way the issue was being dealt with (with laws already in place), and suddenly witnessed a surge in the injunctions being issued to prevent child marriages.

An injunction can be sought to prevent child marriages from taking place or to halt any ongoing child marriage proceedings.

India has grappled with the pervasive issue of child marriage for decades and has been extensively evolving its laws and strategies to fight this crime. Right from the Age of Consent Bill 1860, which became possible due to the efforts of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, to Prohibition of Child Marriage Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), India has continued to intensify its fight in the last many decades. The reality, however, has continued to remain grim.

Despite these legislative efforts, the effective implementation of the law has remained a challenge always. Interestingly, the law saw the light of the day with the initiation of groundbreaking injunctions that began taking place last year. From Rajasthan to Assam to a very recent case in Telangana, injunctions showcased that child marriage has been prioritized by the administration.

The power to issue an injunction to prohibit a child marriage from taking place lies with the Judicial Magistrate of the First Class or a Metropolitan Magistrate. Under Section 2(14(xii) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, a child who is at imminent risk of marriage before attaining the legal age of marriage is defined as “children in need of care and protection” and is to be produced before the Child Welfare Committee who has the power of a Metropolitan Magistrate or Judicial Magistrate of First Class as a bench under Section 27(9) of the JJ Act. Therefore, the power to issue an injunction should be clearly mentioned in the law or advisory by the government.

Enacted to prohibit the solemnization of marriages involving people below the age of 18 for girls and 21 for boys, this was a crucial step towards safeguarding the rights and well-being of minors.

Despite the existence of a comprehensive legal framework, the implementation of the Child Marriage Act faced various challenges. Child marriage is prevalent in society due to many reasons including safety concerns for the girl child, patriarchy and the lack of enforcement of laws resulting in a lack of societal understanding of child marriage as a criminal justice issue.

The year 2023 marked a significant milestone in the fight against child marriage in India. In a never before event, an unprecedented turn took place when 17 state governments took a warlike stance to fight child marriage under the child marriage free India campaign in their respective states in October this year, directing various departments and officials to accentuate the government’s role in eliminating child marriages from their states.

Child Marriage Free India is a nationwide campaign led by women activists and 160 grassroot organizations in more than 300 districts working extensively to eliminate child marriage in India by 2030.

Non-governmental organizations, grassroots workers, and government departments collaborated to educate communities about the harmful consequences of child marriage and subsequently took pledges to stop this menace from their villages, districts and states. The legal landscape witnessed a renewed vigour as injunctions against child marriages became a reality. Injunctions not only act as a deterrent but also send a powerful message that the legal system is committed to protecting the rights of vulnerable children.

( Writer is a senior communication professional)