History, Causes and Consequences of Child Marriages

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History, Causes and Consequences of Child
Marriages
Child Marriage is the marriage of the individual
before they attain the age of adulthood.
According to Indian Law, the age of marriage for
girls is 18 years and for boys, it is 21 years.
Marriage below this reserved age is considered
child marriage which is illegal. Introduction D
espite being a developing country, there are
certain parts of society that practise norms
which are harmful as well as have harmful
consequences. One of those social norms is Child
Marriage, many people still practice this and
even proudly announce them. It is one of the
burning problems of India, for which many
different campaigns, Schemes, and laws are made
but they are of no use since people dont want
to understand that these kinds of practices are
harmful to society as well their children. For
law aspirants and working legal professionals,
it is necessary to know everything related to
such social mispractices and evils in order to
eradicate them, the responsibility of taking
action against the illegal and harmful practices
and bringing justice to the victims and society
falls on Lawyers and the Indian legal system.
This requires a lot of knowledge and skills for
which there are a number of free online law
certification courses available to help the law
students and get them a step closer to their
duties. History of Child Marriage The history
of child marriage lies deep in the roots of
ancient India, many exclaimed that the practice
started after the arrival of the Mughals and
many states that the act was still in practice
before in India. But the
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custom of child marriage was ruining not only
girls' life but also shortening their lifespan
and deteriorating their mental health. In ancient
times the status of women was very low, they
were not considered a part of the society.
Numerous other customs such as sati, purdah, and
the killing of female infants and girl children,
were plaguing the Indian society, which resulted
in the child marriage by parents claiming to
protect their children, but they were actually
getting rid of their own responsibilities.
During British rule, many revolutionaries tried
to stop this practice and it brought the subject
in front of the people. During the formation of
the Indian Penal code in 1860, a law was formed
against the practice of child marriage but it
was of no use. Many online Law certification
courses mention the name of all revolutionaries
and fighters who fought against this custom in
their courses to make learners aware of all
struggles behind finding solutions to this social
problem. Causes of Child Marriage The causes
of child marriage are not one, there are many
reasons people still follow this custom, some of
the reasons are mentioned below Poverty Povert
y is a factor that causes a lot of mishappening
and social problems in our country, one of which
is child marriage. Poverty-stricken parents
choose child marriage as an alternate way to get
rid of their responsibility towards their girl
child. Responsibilities such as proper
education, and a proper life are too much for
them, sadly theyd rather spend that money they
own on their male child. Then some people also
marry off their daughters to their debtors so
that they can get free from the debt, also
people offer money to these people to marry their
daughter to a widower, an old man or a person
with physical or mental illness. Dowry The
custom of dowry which is an amount of money or
other material given to the grooms family by
the brides family is a major cause why people
get their child marriage before the ideal
marriage. On the brides
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side, people think that the more the girl the
more they have to give for their dowry so they
marry them off at early age.
Patriarchal Society The discrimination toward
women is one of the most influential and main
reasons for this custom of child marriage, people
consider women no more than an object to produce
heirs that will carry their bloodline and a
servant for doing their house chores. The
decision of marriage is done by the male members
of the family and this doesn't include the girls
choice.
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There are several other reasons for this such as
social myths, poor enactment of the law, Caste
hierarchy, etc. This causes the exploitation of
an innocents life, and they are deprived of
their right to childhood at an early age.
Awareness regarding this can save the life of
many girls and give them an opportunity to get
an education and fulfil their dream and be a
part of the development of the country. Consequen
ces of Child Marriage There are severe and
unavoidable consequences of child marriage
practice in India, It is the direct right of
violation of a childs rights and freedom. This
causes physical and psychological harm to
children. Girls suffer so much at a very young
age. After getting married at a young age, women
give birth to more children affecting the
population. The effect of early marriage is that
girls are expected to give birth shortly after
the marriage which leads to various physical
illness for the girls and some even dies during
childbirth. These young and immature girls are
pushed into doing domestic chores and almost
slave-like conditions, at the age of getting an
education and playing with friends they are
burdened with the responsibility of a family. Not
to mention its effect on education, this leads
to a high illiteracy rate and lack of exposure.
This also results in gender-based violence and
domestic violence. Child trafficking is also a
consequence of these child marriages as people
take advantage of the poors conditions to marry
their children and then sell them for money at
various places. Laws related to child marriages
are serious and the punishment is also very
severe. Many NGOs and Lawyers take initiative to
end this social evil and provide education to
girls and save their childhood and right to
childhood. Laws such as the Child marriage
restraint act (1929), Prohibition of child
marriage act (2006), The Hindu marriage
act(1956), and other laws, acts, and government
initiatives have joined forces against this
ritual. Law aspirants are choosing online legal
courses based on civil, criminal and
constitutional law to gain more information
related to restraints against child
marriages. Without proper support from society
and awareness regarding child marriage, it is
impossible to end this social norm. Whatever the
reason
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is, no parents are allowed to marry off their
daughter to someone. This practice has a diverse
impact on the national economy and growth too.
The ending of this custom falls on the citizens
and also the youth of India as they are the
future of the country and are responsible for
changing the country for betterment. The
government is initiating many schemes for the
birth of a girl child, along with free education
and fund for their marriage, people should
acknowledge these efforts and also avoid these
ill practices. The Indian Judicial system is
facing a lot of cases based on Child marriage
and domestic violence. Facts and figures, factors
responsible for child marriage, and the crime
rate in this regard are being provided by
numerous online legal courses in India to help
learners understand the seriousness of this
issue. By comprehending this serious issue,
everyone should take proper measures in this
regard and support the governments scheme and
inform people around them about the consequences
of committing child marriage.