BA.LLB(HONS.

) SEMESTER-1

SOCIOLOGY

TOPIC- CHILD MARRIAGE-FACTORS, PROBLEMS AND

PREVENTION

SUBMITTED TO-DR. VRINDA MOHAN

NMIMS SCHOOL OF LAW (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY)

SUBMITTED BY- AKSHAT MISHRA

A062

BA.LLB FIRST YEAR

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 INTRODUCTION

Child marriage is rapidly being recognized as a severe problem in

both national and international societies, as a violation of girls'
human rights and a barrier to crucial development goals. As more
programs, policy, donor, and advocacy constituencies vow their
commitment, money, and action to solve this problem, it's critical
to look back and see how previous attempts fared. While there has
been an increase in investment in programs over the last decade,
many are not well-documented, and even fewer are well-
evaluated, making finding model solutions to address child
marriage a difficulty.

Child marriage, defined as the marriage of a child under the age

of 18, is a hidden but common practice. Today, females under the
age of 18 are married in over 60 million marriages: over 31
million in South Asia, 14 million in Sub-Saharan Africa, and 6.6
million in Latin America and the Caribbean. Every day, 25,000
girls marry, with an estimated 100 million females marrying next
year. 1 In several Sub-Saharan African nations and Bangladesh,
over 60% of girls are married before the age of 18, and in India,
40% to 60% of girls are married before the age of 18.

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Early marriage or child brides have been used to describe child
marriage, although these phrases aren't ideal. Early marriage does
not imply the presence of children, and the term is ambiguous
because what is considered early in one society may be
considered late in another. The name "kid brides" elevates the
custom by conjuring up images of happiness and festivity. The
majority of these weddings are planned by parents, and the
bridesmaids seldom see their future husbands prior to the
ceremony. The bridesmaids are aware that after the wedding, they
will move into their husband's home, become their in-laws'
responsibility, and may not see their own family or friends for
some time.

Child marriage is a violation of human and children's rights,

according to the United Nations and other international
organizations. Individuals must join marriage freely, with full
consent, and at full age, according to the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. Child marriage was declared unlawful by the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women in 1979. Children were defined as those under
the age of 18 in 1989 by the Convention on the Rights of the
Child. Many nations have approved legislation lowering the legal
age of marriage to 18, but enforcement of these laws, as well as

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laws mandating marriage registration, is poor. For example, in
India, the legal age for marriage of females is 18 years but a lot of
child marriages take place in the rural India. The data goes as
high as 50 percent.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The secondary research methodology has been used to make this

paper. It involves the summary, collation and synthesis of existing
research.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The issue of child marriage has become really serious in the past
years. In regions like rural India, a girl child is married and not
even asked once. This can be really affecting on the mental health
of children. The author also wants to spread awareness about
child marriage among the educated sections of the society so that
child marriage can be decreased as much as possible.

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 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

1. CHILD MARRIAGE IN INDIA, B SURESH LAL, this

paper talks about the factors that affect child marriage along
with factors that promote it. It also talks about the
prevention of child marriages. The paper is specific to India.
2. SOLUTIONS TO END CHILD MARRIAGE, ANJU
MALHOTRA, researchers describe a comprehensive study
of child marriage prevention programs with recorded
evaluations in this short. We offer an analysis of the broader
implications for viable solutions to child marriage based on
this synthesis of evaluated programs. The data demonstrates
that child marriage prevention initiatives have grown in
quantity and scope over the previous decade, with almost
two dozen evaluations reported. The region with the most
assessed programs is South Asia, particularly Bangladesh
and India. Programs in a wider variety of African and
Middle Eastern nations, such as Ethiopia and Egypt, are also
helping to build the evidence basis.
3. CHILD MARRIAGE- A SILENT HEALTH AND
HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUE, NAWAL M NOUR, children
under the age of 18 are involved in marriages all over the
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 world, although they are most common in South Asia,
Africa, and Latin America. Child marriage is a human rights
violation that has a direct influence on a girl's education,
health, psychologic well-being, and the health of her
children. Depression, sexually transmitted infections,
cervical cancer, malaria, obstetric fistulas, and maternal
mortality are all increased by it. Premature delivery and, as a
result, neonatal or infant mortality are more likely in their
descendants. The custom, which is fueled by poverty, is
carried on to safeguard the financial prospects of females
and to strengthen social relationships. Mandating that girls
stay in school is one of the most effective ways to reduce
child marriage and its health repercussions. This paper talks
about the same.
4. MEASURING CHILD MARRIAGE, QUENTIN
WODON, this paper suggests that using poverty
measurement techniques to provide richer information on
the extent of child marriage, including its depth and severity
in addition to its incidence, as well as to test the robustness
of child marriage comparisons between groups or over time
to the age threshold used to identify child marriage, would
be simple.
5. EFFECTS OF EDUCATION AND POVERTY ON THE
PREVALANCE OF GIRL CHILD MARRIAGE IN
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 INDIA, PINTU PAUL, at the district level in India, this
study investigates the impact of girls' educational attainment
and household poverty on the occurrence of female child
marriage. The information comes from the National Family
Health Survey conducted in 2015–16.
6. CHILD MARRIAGE AMONG GIRLS IN INDIA-
PREVALANCE, TRENDS AND SOCIO ECONOMIC
CORRELATES, P PAUL, the frequency of child marriage
among girls in India, as well as trends and socioeconomic
variables, are examined in this article. It is based on data
from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) (NFHS).
The prevalence of marriage among female children has
decreased significantly between 1992–1993 and 2015–2016,
according to this data. Its occurrence among age cohorts has
likewise decreased significantly in recent years. Child
marriage, on the other hand, persists among illiterate,
impoverished, and rural women.

7. WHAT WORKS TO PREVENT CHILD MARRIAGE-

A REVIEW OF THE EVIDENCE, SUSAN LEE RIFE
AND ANJU MALHOTRA, this article examines 23 child
marriage prevention programs implemented in low-income
countries that use a variety of programming techniques and
assessment methods. The authors outline the several types of
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 child marriage prevention programs that have been
implemented, analyze how they have been assessed, identify
the major limitations of these assessments, summarize the
evaluation results, and give recommendations for future
preventive efforts.
8. GLOBAL AND REGIONAL TRENDS IN CHILD
MARRIAGE IN INDIA, MINH CONG AND QUENTIN
WODON, this article talks about the trends and patterns that
are seen in child marriage in India and as well as various
countries.

Lal, B. S. (2015). Child marriage in India: factors and problems. International Journal of Science and
Research, 4(4), 2993-2998.

Malhotra, A., Warner, A., McGonagle, A., & Lee-Rife, S. (2011). Solutions to end child
marriage. Washington, DC: International Centre for Research on Women.

Nour, N. M. (2009). Child marriage: a silent health and human rights issue. Reviews in obstetrics and
gynecology, 2(1), 51.

Nguyen, M. C., & Wodon, Q. (2012). Measuring child marriage. Economics Bulletin, 32(1), 398-411.

Paul, P. (2019). Effects of education and poverty on the prevalence of girl child marriage in India: A
district–level analysis. Children and Youth Services Review, 100, 16-21.

Paul, P. (2020). Child marriage among girls in India: Prevalence, trends and socio-economic
correlates. Indian Journal of Human Development, 14(2), 304-319.

Lee‐Rife, S., Malhotra, A., Warner, A., & Glinski, A. M. (2012). What works to prevent child marriage:
a review of the evidence. Studies in family planning, 43(4), 287-303.

Nguyen, M. C., & Wodon, Q. (2015). Global and regional trends in child marriage. The Review of
Faith & International Affairs, 13(3), 6-11.

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 HYPOTHESIS

1. Girls from poor households are more likely to marry early

than those from rich families.
2. The higher the parents’ level of education, higher is the age
of marriage.

LIMITATIONS

The research conducted was limited due to very less articles and
existing sources to take references from.

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OBJECTIVE- To analyze the factors promoting child
marriage and the problems.

OBJECTIVE 1- FACTORS PROMOTING CHILD

MARRIAGE-

Women are at the crossroads between production and

reproduction, economic action and human care, and so between
economic progress and human development. They are active
participants in both domains. Discrimination against women, on
the other hand, is widespread. It starts with the womb and ends
with the grave. Discrimination manifests itself in the areas of
education, employment, the workplace, family, and the socio-
political realm. The child marriage system is also a manifestation
of gender inequality. There are a variety of variables that
contribute to child marriage. The various factors that motivate
child marriage are as follows:

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1. To avoid the expenditure of education:  Human resource
development is critical to economic growth; efficient human
resource or human capital is required for successful
utilization of physical capital. One of the most important
variables of human capital creation is education. A person's
productive capability is determined by their degree of
education. Educational investment levels influence
educational achievement and human capital development,
promoting economic growth and development. The amount
of money spent on a person's education impacts his or her
capability development. In all developing nations, women
have less prospects for education and job advancement than
males. When a country realizes the value of developing
human resources, it spends more on education. Individuals
and families are in the same boat. Male children are viewed
as future assets and economic foundation of the family, but
female children are treated as a burden on the family
economic base and are treated as someone else's asset
because they are to be given to someone in marriage. Female
children are given less or no priority as a result of this
prejudice in expenditure on children's education. An
examination of children's enrolment in AP reveals how
discrimination against girls is implemented. In AP, more
over 90% of government schools have more girls than boys
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 enrolled, while private schools have more boys than girls
enrolled. People consider marriage as an easy way to avoid
spending money on a girl's education.

2. Minimizing marriage expenditure: In most families, the

husband has a higher standing than the wife. He is, of
course, supposed to be more capable than his wife. When it
comes to educational qualifications, the husband is expected
to have a higher level of education than the wife. Many
people have had the experience of trying to locate a
bridegroom who matches the bride's educational
qualifications, only to find that bridegrooms with greater
qualifications expect more dowry and other items. If the
female is educated, the groom should be more educated than
the bride, and there should be higher dowries. As a result,
the higher the girl's education, the higher the marriage cost.
On the other hand, due to the current flawed education
system, educated people are alienating socially and
culturally, losing integrity, and blindly following/adopting
extravagant life styles, with educated people's wedding
ceremonies becoming expensive and luxurious in the name
of fashion and modern culture. Due to the demonstrative
effect, more educated females are dictating marriage
festivities according to their wills and desires, making them
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 extravagant and opulent. As a result, educating females
raises the cost of marriage. People believe that it is simpler
or less burdensome to marry a girl shortly after puberty or
even before, at the age of 13 or 14 or even younger, than to
educate her.

3. Avoiding share of property: To some extent, the right of

women to share ancestral property is also one of the
elements that encourages child marriages. If a female
marries at a young age, she will not demand her portion as a
kid. Female heirs are denied property rights in practice,
notwithstanding legislative prohibitions, by resorting to
early child marriage for the advantage of male successors.

4. Poverty: When a family is poor, women and female

children are frequently denied equitable access to shared
resources. Female family members, particularly female
youngsters, suffer as a result of the family's poverty. Female
children in disadvantaged families are inherently put in
jeopardy. Every opportunity is used to escape the feminine
load. As a result, poor families naturally resort to child
marriage to avoid all of the responsibilities that come with
having a female kid. It's also possible that poor families are
selling girls, and child marriage is a disguised manner of
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selling females. The practice of marrying children to gods
stems from a lack of resources in the household.

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OBJECTIVE 2-PROBLEMS CAUSED DUE TO CHILD
MARRIAGE-

Various problems are caused due to child marriage. Some of

them are as follows:

1. Pressure of in-laws: Women's domestic work includes a

variety of tasks such as processing and crushing fresh
grains, tending to live animals, cooking, and caring for
children and the elderly. They must put in several hours
of hard work to acquire fuel and water from far away
locations. They also participate in domestic production to
augment family income, raise animals to increase
household assets, and grow vegetables for household use.
They also play an important function in agriculture.
Women conduct more arduous work in many households,
but males control assets and money, giving women less
independence. The situation of a married kid living with
his or her in-laws is extremely taxing. "She has to play
numerous roles in the in-laws' family as a female member
of the family." They boost their family's income by
participating in productive activities. Maintaining a family
and children is another difficult task for a married child.
She has to play the part of an adult woman despite the
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 fact that she is a youngster. If she is the older in her in-
laws' family, family duty might be difficult. Family
members have high expectations of her, but she is unable
to meet them. She is responsible for the requirements of
the elderly and other members of the family, which are
frequently beyond her skills.

2. Health issues caused due to early pregnancy: Early

pregnancy and child marriage are unavoidable
consequences of child marriage, resulting in a slew of
health issues. She will be unable to cope with changes in
her body throughout pregnancy if she is unaware of her
physiological situation. Elderly ladies are also unable to
provide her with suitable guidance. During pregnancy,
birth, and the post-delivery period, older women used to
keep a close eye on the situation. However, however,
older women do not have the same expertise as women in
the past, nor do they have the same favorable attitude
about approaching qualified medical personnel. In
emergency scenarios, this kind of setup might lead to a
reliance on local quakes.

3. Not able to plan family: Women who married young are

statistically more likely to have more children. Those
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 married under the age of 15 had an average of 4.96
children, those married between the ages of 15 and 17 had
an average of 4.15 children, and those married beyond the
age of 18 had an average of 3.12 children. Young moms
have less power and influence over their children, and are
less capable of making decisions regarding their diet,
health care, and home management.

4. Higher age of groom than bride: In most cases, there is

a significant age gap between the bride and husband. The
bride, not the bride groom, is the kid in the majority of
child marriages. Bride has no freedom to voice her ideas
on any aspect of family life while she is a kid, and she
must blindly accept her husband's demands.

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 CONCLUSION:

 Examining the customs surrounding early marriage. Parents,

community members, and kids should be informed about the
dangers of early marriage.
 Build a network of (religious) leaders and instructors who
can help girls deal with their parents.
 Provide more training on the consequences of early marriage
to health and community workers, empowering them to act
as champions and change agents in their communities and
institutions.
 Strengthen and build community networks and partnerships
that include girls clubs, teachers, elders, local government
officials, women and youth organizations, community and
religious leaders, and others, all of whom are working
together to eliminate early marriage.
 Strengthen the role of the legal system, notably the police,
judges, and prosecutors, by providing training on how to
implement the anti-early marriage statute.
 Create robust support mechanisms to encourage females to
stay in school. Scholarships should be provided if
appropriate, and instructors should be encouraged to assist
girls.
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  Invite powerful professional women to speak to girls in
their communities as role models and sources of inspiration.
 Finally, given the circumstances that lead to child
marriages, all efforts should be made to modify parents' and
society's gender biased views by providing good education
on the one hand and eliminating poverty on the other.

Implementation Hand Book for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, UNICEF.

Biswajit Ghosh, (2006): Trafficking in Women & Children, Child Marriage and Dowry: A Study for Action
Plan in West Bengal, Dept of Women & Child Development & Social Welfare, Govt. of West Bengal &
UNICEF.

Lal, B. S. (2015). Child marriage in India: factors and problems. International Journal of Science and
Research, 4(4), 2993-2998.

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