Child Marriage In Rural Area

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child considers child marriage to be a severe violation. More than 60 million women are predicted to get married before they reach the age of 18, with South Asia accounting for more than a third of these women. Despite the 2006 Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, which made the marriage of girls under the age of 18 and males under the age of 21 a criminal felony, child marriage is still common in India. According to evidence, nearly 30% of all women aged 20-24 are married before they reach legal age. According to the 2011 Indian census, 17 million youngsters between the ages of 10 and 19 are married. Research by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on preventing child marriage identified the following path of negative consequences: limited freedom of choice and options, early marriage, and early child-bearing. Child marriage is also linked to domestic violence and negative health consequences such as high baby, child, and maternal mortality rates, according to the study.

Child marriage has been linked to serious health problems among teenage mothers and their offspring. The majority of underage moms face reproductive health issues, as well as mental health issues, malnutrition, anemia, vaccine-preventable infectious diseases, and sexually transmitted illnesses. Prematurity, intrauterine growth retardation, being small for gestational age, birth asphyxia, perinatal problems, and even mortality are all risks that children of underage mothers face. Hypertension, eclampsia, preeclampsia, and postpartum hemorrhage are all risks for teen mothers.

Regardless of her chronological age, the development of menarche signals to the elders and community that a girl is of marriageable age. The phrase "ladki jawan ho Gayi hai" indicates that the girl has reached sexual maturity. The threat to family honor and adherence to social conventions, according to the two respondents, are predictors of early/child marriage. At the family level, these variables may impact decision-making; but, at the community and societal levels, social norms may be exploited to mask the true causes, such as structural inequities and patriarchy. Gender norms play out in the overemphasis of the relation between girls' virginity and chastity and family honor. Some sexual reproductive variables, such as the onset of menarche, contribute to the gating of women. Child marriage is utilized as a technique to preserve rituals and traditions that are a result of the normative conditioning that adolescents receive from birth. These societal threats force teenagers to comply with norms, as evidenced by several studies in India. As a result, patriarchal authority, which is backed by communal support, is passed down from generation to generation.

By: Samaira Sachdeva
Delhi Public School, Gautam Buddh Nagar