On Thursday, Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF), led by Nobel Laureate and champion of child rights Kailash Satyarthi, launched the “Child Marriage Free India” campaign at the YB Chavan Centre in Mumbai. The focus was to bring down and eventually stop child marriages taking place in the state of Maharashtra. Accordingly, KSCF co-organised the consultation with the Maharashtra State Legal Services Authority (MSLSA) and the Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MSCPCR).
As per the 2011 census, in the state of Maharashtra, around 11.6 lakh children were married off before turning 18, which constituted approximately 10 per cent of all married children. At present, the state ranks fourth in the country with regard to the number of child marriages taking place year on year. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2019-21 reports that the number of victims of child marriage in Maharashtra climbed up from 20 in 2019 to 82 in 2021.
At the state-level consultation, the key points discussed were the appointment of a Child Marriage Prohibition Officer (CMPO), mandatory FIR registration in cases of child marriage and incentivisation of parents to motivate them not to marry off their underage children.
The National Family Health Survey-V (NFHS 2019-21) reports that nationally 23.3 per cent of women between the age group of 20-24 were married off before attaining the age of 18. The NCRB data, however, suggests that cases of 152 children were registered in the state under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) during the 2019-21 period. This indicates a gross under-reporting of child marriages in the state which needs to be addressed.
In this background, the consultation deliberated on pertinent issues linked to child marriage and legal applications to stop the practice. Among the key issues discussed were the mandatory registration of FIR in cases of child marriage to ensure appropriate action, linking child marriage with the juvenile justice (Care and Protection) Act and POCSO act for penalising the perpetrator, appointment of CMPO at the district level across the country and incentivisation for the parents.
Present on this occasion was Chairperson, MSCPCR Susieeben Shah, Commissioner, Women and Child Development (WCD), R Vimla, Chairperson, CWC-Mumbai, Milind Bidwai, Secretary, High Court DLSA, R.D. Patil, Member of Advisory board, KSCF, Yogesh Dube and Executive Director, KSCF, Rakesh Senger. Chairperson, MSCPCR, Susieeben Shah Said, “Child Marriage is a tradition in many parts, so awareness must be created. We must also stress awareness amongst the parents to prevent such cases. All departments including government agencies and civil society should be encouraged to act in the prevention of such cases”.
Commissioner, Women and Child Development (WCD), R Vimla said, “We know the problem of child marriage, but now we must look at the appropriate solutions. Women's self-help and government schemes like Kishori Yojana must be used and the skill of girls should be enhanced for their future engagement. Men must also be included in the awareness programmes to make it more holistic”.
In April this year, the Bombay High Court observed that the number of child marriages in the state was “mind-boggling” and said that more needs to be done by the Maharashtra government to rid the state of the menace of age-old custom. the government informed HC that there have been over 15,000 child marriages in the state in the last three years.
However, the government has managed to prevent 1,541 child marriages due to the intervention of state authorities. the court said that child marriages in the state were also the reason for a large number of cases related to malnutrition and child deaths in the tribal community. The HC was hearing a PIL filed by an NGO from Pune and other social activists seeking directions to the Maharashtra government to formulate rules for effective implementation of the prohibition of child marriage act, 2006, alleging under-reported and unreported incidents of child marriage in the state.
