Child marriage remains dark side of Indian society
Child marriage remains dark side of Indian society
13:52, November 06, 2009 
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Laxmi Nagar is a district not far from the Yamuna River in New Delhi. It is like a sprawling Indian rural village transplanted into the metropolis, as many of its residents are from the countryside.
Lalita Saini, 14, is living here with her 19-year-old husband and her mother in a small hut. She has been already married for three years.
"I was married around Akha Teej festival, but I did not know my husband until I saw him the first time at the wedding," said the meek, pony-tailed little girl, a blue scarf draped over her head. "I didn't want to get married, but I had no choice."
The festival, also known more widely as Akshaya Tritiya, celebrates the birthday of the sixth incarnation of Vishnu, who is the preserver of life in the Hindu pantheon.
In many districts of western India's Rajasthan, inexpensive mass marriages of children are held each year on Akshaya Tritiya.
Lalita is only one of thousands of child brides who were abruptly thrown into a house wife's role and motherhood since those weddings.
"When she was about 12, I forbade my daughter leaving the house," said Anjana, Lalita's mother. "She was becoming a woman, some man could take notice of her, or she could run off with someone and may bring shame to the family."
For many Indians, marriage is the most holy moment of their lives. On Akha Teej, hundreds can perform their god-given "duty" at a minuscule cost in the semi-desert state where camels wander.
It would be sinful to intercept matches that are made in heaven and celebrated on earth. So strong is this bias, that when a low caste potter's wife named Bhanwari Devi tried to prevent child marriages in her village in Rajasthan, she was brutally raped by upper caste men as a punishment a few years ago.
Despite being outlawed since 1929, child marriages are still rampant in parts of India. This is mainly due to traditional views and poor law enforcement in a conservative, male-dominated society.
"I was married when I was 13, and I didn't understand why I had to live in another house and sleep with a strange man," said 30-year-old Suni, now a widow, who is living a miserable life with her two daughters and one son in a slum in Delhi.
She admitted with a faint smile that she had had three children by the age of 18.
Suni said her parents forced her to marry because the family was in debt due to a severe drought.
To push two physiologically and emotionally ill-prepared individuals into marriage is a merciless way of looking at relationships.
One such brutal incident recently occurred in a remote village in India-controlled Kashmir, where a 10-year-old girl, who was staying at her father's house after the illegal marriage, was even raped by her "husband."
As some of the villagers had objected to the marriage of girls at such tender ages, it was decided that she would stay with her parents until she had reached a marriageable age. But her husband, Rinku, who reportedly had "purchased" the girl, visited her parental house and raped her in a nearby field.
Such couples barely have access to contraception, and due to repeated and poorly spaced pregnancies, the young mothers are far more likely to have complications during and after childbirth.
Health experts believe that child marriage is also a medical and social burden to women in India and poses a demographic threat to the entire world.
"Child marriage has serious consequences for national development, stunting education and vocational opportunities for a large sector of the population. Furthermore, girls lose their childhood, and risk their health as well as their children's due to early pregnancy," said Rajan Choudhary from a charity working against child marriages in Rajasthan.
The Indian Parliament passed the amended Child Marriage Restraint Act in 1978, which requires that a woman be at least 18,and a man 21 before getting married. However, according to a 2006 government survey, still around 45 percent of girls and almost 30 percent of boys in India are married before the legal age.
Luckily, the government has kept making efforts to reduce the high rate of child marriages.
The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 adopted by the Indian government forbids the solemnization of child marriage and matters connected with child marriage.
The Act has also enhanced the penalty for violation of the provisions as compared to the previous Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929.
Moreover, according to the "National Plan of Action for Children 2005," published by India's Department of Women and Child Development, a goal has been set to abolish child marriage completely by 2010.
Source: Xinhua
Lalita Saini, 14, is living here with her 19-year-old husband and her mother in a small hut. She has been already married for three years.
"I was married around Akha Teej festival, but I did not know my husband until I saw him the first time at the wedding," said the meek, pony-tailed little girl, a blue scarf draped over her head. "I didn't want to get married, but I had no choice."
The festival, also known more widely as Akshaya Tritiya, celebrates the birthday of the sixth incarnation of Vishnu, who is the preserver of life in the Hindu pantheon.
In many districts of western India's Rajasthan, inexpensive mass marriages of children are held each year on Akshaya Tritiya.
Lalita is only one of thousands of child brides who were abruptly thrown into a house wife's role and motherhood since those weddings.
"When she was about 12, I forbade my daughter leaving the house," said Anjana, Lalita's mother. "She was becoming a woman, some man could take notice of her, or she could run off with someone and may bring shame to the family."
For many Indians, marriage is the most holy moment of their lives. On Akha Teej, hundreds can perform their god-given "duty" at a minuscule cost in the semi-desert state where camels wander.
It would be sinful to intercept matches that are made in heaven and celebrated on earth. So strong is this bias, that when a low caste potter's wife named Bhanwari Devi tried to prevent child marriages in her village in Rajasthan, she was brutally raped by upper caste men as a punishment a few years ago.
Despite being outlawed since 1929, child marriages are still rampant in parts of India. This is mainly due to traditional views and poor law enforcement in a conservative, male-dominated society.
"I was married when I was 13, and I didn't understand why I had to live in another house and sleep with a strange man," said 30-year-old Suni, now a widow, who is living a miserable life with her two daughters and one son in a slum in Delhi.
She admitted with a faint smile that she had had three children by the age of 18.
Suni said her parents forced her to marry because the family was in debt due to a severe drought.
To push two physiologically and emotionally ill-prepared individuals into marriage is a merciless way of looking at relationships.
One such brutal incident recently occurred in a remote village in India-controlled Kashmir, where a 10-year-old girl, who was staying at her father's house after the illegal marriage, was even raped by her "husband."
As some of the villagers had objected to the marriage of girls at such tender ages, it was decided that she would stay with her parents until she had reached a marriageable age. But her husband, Rinku, who reportedly had "purchased" the girl, visited her parental house and raped her in a nearby field.
Such couples barely have access to contraception, and due to repeated and poorly spaced pregnancies, the young mothers are far more likely to have complications during and after childbirth.
Health experts believe that child marriage is also a medical and social burden to women in India and poses a demographic threat to the entire world.
"Child marriage has serious consequences for national development, stunting education and vocational opportunities for a large sector of the population. Furthermore, girls lose their childhood, and risk their health as well as their children's due to early pregnancy," said Rajan Choudhary from a charity working against child marriages in Rajasthan.
The Indian Parliament passed the amended Child Marriage Restraint Act in 1978, which requires that a woman be at least 18,and a man 21 before getting married. However, according to a 2006 government survey, still around 45 percent of girls and almost 30 percent of boys in India are married before the legal age.
Luckily, the government has kept making efforts to reduce the high rate of child marriages.
The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 adopted by the Indian government forbids the solemnization of child marriage and matters connected with child marriage.
The Act has also enhanced the penalty for violation of the provisions as compared to the previous Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929.
Moreover, according to the "National Plan of Action for Children 2005," published by India's Department of Women and Child Development, a goal has been set to abolish child marriage completely by 2010.
Source: Xinhua
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