1st January 2015: Hindustan Time's reported the rescue of a 13-year-old girl being married off to a boy of the same age in Delhi[i]. Some months back, 15 year old Nisha had to run away from home because her family threatened to marry her off to the first man who would pay them enough irrespective of his age, caste or physical condition. But not all children are lucky to be rescued nor have the courage to run away and escape. Every second bride in India is a child. Out of them, one in six girl children have given birth to children. The Government of India's lack of political will and a weak Prevention of Child Marriage Act of 2006 has made the situation in the country alarming.  

With 240 million child brides, India has the largest number of child brides. The decline rate of one per cent per year in the last 2 decades in child marriages is totally unacceptable.

Metropolitan magistrate Shivani Chauhan of Delhi recently while adjudicating a case correctly said that “Child marriage is an evil worst than rape and should be completely eradicated from the society. This would not be possible if the stakeholders like State fail to take appropriate action against the offenders”[ii]. The Magistrate rightly saw the seriousness of the offence which the child’s own parents, relatives and the husband are alleged to have committed upon the child’s person.Like Shivani, Stakeholders and Policy-makers need to look at this issue from a strong legal issue and recognize child marriage as a human rights violation, as a law and order issue and as a crime against humanity. 

I Thought filed a PIL in the Supreme Court of India challenging the existence of child marriages and Exception 2 to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code, [as amended by Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013] being violative of Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution to the extent that it permits intrusive sexual intercourse with a girl child aged between 15 to 18 years only on the ground that she has been married. The response of the Government is a declaration of its lack of intent to look at this human rights violation as unacceptable and allow it under the garb of social norms, poverty and culture. Is this Right?  On a similar rationale to the PIL, recently the Committee on the Rights of the Child in its Concluding Observations to India’s consolidated third and fourth periodic reports remarked that it was “deeply concerned at the high prevalence of child marriages in the State Party, despite the enactment of the PCMA and that there are "barriers impeding the full implementation of the PCMA, such as the prevalence of social norms and traditions over the legal framework”

The government’s make in India cannot be a dream come true if there is a single child married off against her rights. We need to commit to a India that is free of child marriages in the post 2015 development era. The Government needs to stop looking at child marriage as a social norm and as a acceptable culture Accordingly, the Government of India needs to immediately call for total elimination of all forms of child marriages in India. The existing PCMA lacks tooth and is a weak law. We ask the Government to enact a stronger law that eliminates child marriage rather than merely prevent it. We ask the Government of India to declare a war against child marriage and create zero tolerance towards it. Only then will we have a India in the post 2015 development era that honours and upholds the rights of all its children.  

It is beyond debate that harmful traditional practices such as child marriage need to be dealth by the State with stronger legal approach. So far, the State has totally abdicated its responsibility by seeking an alibi in social norms and customs and this amounts to rights violation of millions of children every year.One example of this rights violation is the State allowing and accepting sexual abuse of girl children within such prohibited child marriages. We demand that the Government of India looks at these issues seriously and declares: 

 Child marriage as a pure Rights violation of children, especially girl children.

 The Right to free and compulsory education is extended beyond 14 years to cover children upto 18, so that girls remain in neighbourhood school and are not simly married off

 The State recognises and acts upon its role in ensuring a law and order situation by protecting children from being married off in the fear of insecurity of girls in a unprotected society. 

[i] http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/newdelhi/parents-attempt-to-marry-13-yr-olds-to-save-on-dowry/article1-1302147.aspx
[ii] http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/delhi-court-abhors-the-custom-of-child-marriage/article1-1261160.aspx