In 3 yrs, child marriages on rise in Haryana

Bhartesh Singh Thakur

Chandigarh, October 4

In the past three years, child marriages have increased in Haryana, but the same period has seen conviction in just one case.

The state reported 20 cases of child marriage in 2019 and 33 each in 2020 and 2021 under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006.

However, the actual child marriages taking place in Haryana are much more. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5 (2019-21) revealed that women aged between 20 and 24, who had fallen prey to child marriage, were 12.5 per cent in the state. In the NFHS-4 (2015-16), the percentage of such women, was higher at 19.4 per cent.

Teenage pregnancy which is a consequence of child marriage was 3.9 per cent in the state, according to the NFHS-5. It was 5.8 per cent in NFHS-4.

Now, Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation has tied up with the WCD, Haryana, for launching a campaign on combating child marriages from October 16.

Ravi Kant, country head, India Access to Justice, who was in Chandigarh today on behalf of the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation, said, “Different states have different reasons for child marriages. Girl child security, her future, and social factors are the reasons behind it. Security is the major reason.”

The conviction rate under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act has been poor in Haryana. In 2021, the trial courts in Haryana decided four cases under the Act, but none ended in conviction. All eight people were acquitted.

In 2020, no case under the Act could be decided. In 2019, the trial got completed in seven cases. The conviction took place in just one case. The rest of the six cases ended in acquittals, where 13 people walked free.

Sexual assault up 8%

• Out of the total victims of trafficking in Haryana, about 47% were children (21 out of 45) in 2021
• 8% rise in sexual violence cases in state from 2,074 in 2019 to 2,249 in 2021
• Percentage of child rape cases to total cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act stood at 62 in 2021

Poverty big factor

Child marriages in Haryana have been witnessed among the poorest strata of society, including nomadic caste groups like Sansi etc. If a family has five or more girls, the parents usually marry off two girls in one go to avoid expenses even if one of them is a minor. — Raj Bala Kataria, joint director, women & child development department