INCREASED PROBLEM OF CHILD MARRIAGE DURING THE PANDEMIC

“Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” is still a dream because the girl child is not treated as an asset but a liability. Child marriage is driven by gender inequality, social norms, and the belief that girls are inferior to boys. It violates the rights of children and places them at a risk of abuse and exploitation which directly affects the physical and mental health of a child. It has a higher impact on the girls belonging to rural communities. Getting married at a later age is considered taboo by society and is not acceptable. Then why is getting married in childhood considered alright? Marriage is supposed to be the most important ceremony and a new chapter in a girl’s life. Child marriage is like a responsibility because children are too young to understand its meaning.
Some girls are married at a very early age to secure their future. Educating girls is seen as lesser of a priority than educating sons because the sons of the family earn money and are treated by their parents as insurance for old age. They get pregnant at a very early age when their bodies are not even ready to accept the changes they go through. Children that bear a child in the age group of 15-19 years mostly due to complications in pregnancy.

Girls are considered to be docile so they are expected to adjust. They give in to the social pressure of getting married at a very young age. Girls married at an early age are more likely to experience domestic abuse as they don’t know about exploitation and the meaning behind it. Especially during the period of lockdown in India, many girls were married off because the parents wanted to absolve themselves of their responsibility. Young girls were forced to leave school, help their mothers with domestic chores, forced to shun plans of higher education. Another reason for marriage is that the parents would have to give less amount of dowry when the girls are younger.
Promoting gender sensitization, teaching the girls technical skills will help them fulfill their aspirations and live a life of dignity. Social awareness should be created at rural levels because people don’t fear the government and feel that no one will get to know if they get their children married at a young age. If we start with every gram panchayat, then only we will be able to eradicate this social evil.