Essay on Child Marriage in India

Essay on child marriage in India! Find high quality essays on ‘Child Marriage in India’ especially written for school and college students. These essays will also guide you to learn about the history, causes, effects, prevention and steps to be taken to spread awareness about child marriage.

Child marriage in India is still a prevalent practice. So far, we can’t seem to overcome the dark reality of child marriage in India. In a layman’s language, child marriage in India means involving a boy and girl to get into the marital bond, with or without their consent.

Audience: The below given essays are exclusively written for school students (Class 7, 8, 9 and 10 standard) and college students. Furthermore, those students preparing for competitive exams like IAS, IPS, Civil Services and UPSC can also increase their knowledge by reading these essays.

List of Essays on Child Marriage in India

Essay on Child Marriage in India – Short Essay (Essay 1 – 150 Words)

Child marriage in India is one of the most baffling of all problems which the Indian society faces. There was a time when most children were married at a very premature age. There have been several instances wherein children less than 10 years of age got married. They barely understood the meaning of marriage and yet they were tied to a bond they could do nothing about.

Causes of Child Marriage in India:

In earlier times, Child marriage in India was an age old tradition. Some of the many other causes of Child Marriage in India include poverty, illiteracy, social pressure, etc.

The Perils of Child Marriage in India:

Of course, child marriage in India is filled with too many perils. A lot of innocent lives were lost and children who should be taught the basics of education ended up being chained to family pressure. This affected the children mentally as well as physically.

The Remedial Measures:

The right thing to do is to create awareness about this issue. If we want to solve the problem of child marriage in India, we should educate both parents and children and encourage them to be independent first and then look for a partner only after attaining a certain age. Laws should also be put in place in order to get rid of this social issue.

Conclusion:

Children of today are the future of tomorrow. They must be provided with proper education in order to build a strong nation. It’s time to put an end to Child Marriage in India.

Essay on Child Marriage in India (Essay 2 – 250 Words)

Introduction:

Child Marriage in India basically originated to prevent the girl child from being taken away by the conquerors of the nation. Child Marriage means that a girl or a boy gets betrothed to her partner even as a child purely at the consent of the parents. Even though the lawful age for a person to be married is set at 18 by UNICEF, it is not practiced in many places.

Reasons & Consequences:

Two primary reasons for Child Marriages in India is lack of education and poverty. The appalling consequences of child marriages include pregnancy- related deaths, child mothers not able to provide proper infant care, subjected to domestic violence.

Government & Laws:

Although there were laws in existence since 1929 to protect children from Child Marriages in India, it is unfortunate that “Allowance of Child Marriages without police Intervention” is being announced as Election promises in this Country. Every Citizen in this country has a role to protect and uphold the future citizens, the now Children. Many Government programs such as ApniBeti, Apna Dhan (ABAD), which translates to “My daughter, My wealth,” focus on delaying the Child marriages in India. Balika Vadhu one of the most watched melo-drama, showcased how Child Marriages are a bane to human race and the country.

Conclusion:

As a dutiful citizen, each of us should make the children understand their human rights. Create awareness and give the child appropriate contact information to seek contacts when their cry of refusal is denied ears. This would therefore abolish child marriage in India and create a safe environment to nurture the future of the country.

Essay on Child Marriage in India – Written in English (Essay 3 – 300 Words)

Marriage is a very responsible and sacred way of uniting two people who are matured and ready to accept each other. But child marriage in India is something that is a really unethical way of uniting people, who are not only immature but also does not understand the real responsibility behind the phenomenon.

Indian law has assigned a minimum age of eighteen for girls and twenty-one for boys to legally get married. This law was passed due to the increased reporting of child marriages in India. While at one side everyone is trying to make the most out of our nation’s growth, at the other side it is too much annoying to think how children are getting mislead to lead a responsible life at their childhood.

Mainly girl children are forced to fall into child marriage in India as they are discriminated in the society because of their gender. Child marriages in India were considered by parents as a way of saving their child from abuses and other difficulties they face from the outside world. But on the other hand child marriage in India is a real spoiler of a kid’s childhood. They get on with handling more responsibilities than they even know about and many cases have been reported against this child marriage in India.

They are forced to live a life they don’t have any idea about due to this inhuman child marriage in India. The girl child is made to move out of her own house at such a young age due to child marriage in India, and live completely among strangers. She is forced to do all the household chores and other more difficult responsibilities. Child marriage in India ruins a child’s life.

Domestic violence and forced sexual abuses are also major problems due to child marriage in India. Not only girls but boys are also forced for such inhumanity. Child marriage in India is more dominant in rural areas where proper education and awareness should be spread to stop this cruelty.

Essay on Child Marriage in India – Causes, Effects and Prevention (Essay 4 – 400 Words)

Introduction:

Child Marriage in India is a centuries old tradition. When the 1921 census reported 600 brides in the age group of one to twelve months, Mahatma Gandhi was shocked. He became instrumental in introducing the Sarda Act or the Child Marriage Restraint Act in 1929. That was the first step taken against child marriage in India. It fixed the age of marriage for girls at 14 years and boys at 18 years. Since then many reformers and stakeholders have been advocating against child marriage in India.

Causes:

Since bygone days, the dignity and reputation of families in India were heavily dependent on the chastity of their daughters. To uphold the honour, child marriage in India was prevalent at a tender age before puberty.

Due to poverty, many poor parents wished to see off their daughters through marriage at early years. Some even received monetary benefits from the groom’s family in lieu of marriage. Further, poor families also found it cheaper to conduct child marriages than adult marriages.

So, the various reasons for child marriage in India include tradition, poverty, illiteracy and social pressures.

Effects:

The victims of child marriage in India are often uneducated. They do not have a broad view of their life with respect to the world. So, they often tend to pass this tradition to future generations, out of ignorance.

Due to the early marriage, these children often experience unprecedented responsibilities, suffer discontinuation of education, deterioration of health etc. Since they are physically and psychologically not ready for a married life, their childhood is frustrated with hardships of life.

Prevention:

The latest effort to prevent child marriage in India is the landmark judgment of the Supreme Court in October 2017. All along, men who raped their minor wives were protected by the law. But, according this latest judgment, sexual act with a child bride has been criminalised. This is a definite step to curb child marriage in India.

Since 2014, it has become mandatory to register marriages in order to prevent child marriage in India. The public has been encouraged to report child marriages and non-registered marriages in order to keep violations in check.

Various sensitization programs are carried out to educate the parents and the public against child marriage in India.

Conclusion:

UNICEF sees child marriage practice as violation of human rights. One of United Nations’ sustainable goals is to eradicate child marriage in the world by 2030. Studies indicate that more than 40% child marriages of the world, happen in India. So, the International community expects a radical change in India than any other country. With dreams to become a superpower in the near future, it has become imperative to put an end to child marriage in India.

Essay on Child Marriage in India – For School Students (Class 7, 8, 9 and 10 Standard) (Essay 5 – 500 Words)

India is surging on its way to become a superpower, but it is a startling reality that an age old evil practice called child marriage still prevails in the country. India has the second highest number of child marriages according to a United Nations report. According to the statistics the State of Bihar has the highest incidence of child marriage at 68% followed by Rajasthan and Jharkhand.

Causes of Child Marriage:

According to the law in India marriageable age is18 years for girls and 21 years for boys. Child marriage in India should be seen as an exploitation of human right. This evil tradition has existed in India for a long time. From the time of the birth of a girl child she was treated as someone else’s property and hence was married at a very tender age. Another social reason to initiate child marriages was that the elders wanted to see the growth of their family with respect to the number of children as it characterized their status. Poor people practiced child marriage to get rid of their loans, taxes, whereas some people instigated it to fetch lump sum dowry.

Impact of Child Marriage:

Child marriage in India imposes huge household responsibilities, especially on innocent girl children who are not mentally and physically prepared for it. Boys who are still minors are forced to bear critical financial responsibilities and the whole family. Child marriage in India snatches the innocent childhood and the freedom to play and learn from these kids. This evil practice incubates a greater risk of contracting sexual diseases like HIV. Girls who get married at a very young age are less likely to be aware about pregnancy and correlated topics. A baby born to such mother is more likely to suffer from ailments like malnutrition.

Prevention of Child Marriages in India:

The Indian Constitution and Law prohibit Child Marriage in India in any shape or form. The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 eradicate the flaws in previously present laws. The act strictly prohibits the marriage of a girl under eighteen years of age and a boy below twenty-one years of age. Under this law, the children have the choice to declare their marriage as annulled up to two years of reaching adulthood. Apparently, a major shortcoming of the law is that it doesn’t cover the Muslims, as this law is binding to all citizens of India. A foremost hindrance in curbing the evil practice is that most of these marriages are not registered and are carried out informally.

Conclusion:

Marriage is a sacred union between two mature individuals who are in consensus with each other to share responsibilities and take care of each other for a lifetime. Child Marriages happen to be an illogical institution that has prevailed in the country, despite all the development and growth that the country has witnessed over the time. It needs to be understood that poverty and lack of education are the major factors that undermine the efforts to end this menace. The Government of India and different NGOs’ are working meticulously to spread awareness about child marriage in India. As a responsible citizen of India we must contribute to the fullest to eradicate this evil practise by immediately reporting to the police when one hears of child marriage taking place.

Essay on Child Marriage in India – Facts (Essay 6 – 600 Words)

Child marriage in India is a disturbing truth that still exists in the nation. Marriage is an institution in which two mature persons agree to live with each other by sharing their responsibilities equally. But, child marriage in India is totally opposed to it.

What is child marriage in India and its history?

Child marriage in India is an informal or formal wedding amongst two persons in which the male is below 21 years of age and the girl is below 18 years of age. It is also considered as the misuse of civil rights because it is a kind of an involuntary wedding.

There is a long history behind the child marriage in India. It exists from the eras when the empire structure was predominant.

The child marriage in India was also utilized as a weapon to keep the girls safe from rapes and kidnap by foreign sovereigns. One more social motive to start child marriage in India was that the aging people in the families desired to see their grandchildren’s faces before dying.

Effects of Child Marriage In India:

The following are the effects of child marriage in India:

1. During child marriage in India, the immature girl kid needs to leave her home forcefully and have to live in a new home with lots of responsibilities. At such a small age, the girl who is not mentally mature has to take the huge responsibilities of the home.

2. Child marriage in India also results in a depression in the kids. Besides the girl child, the male child is also not so much capable of taking full responsibility of her wife and also the expenses of running a family.

3. Childhood gets vanished at the time of child marriage in India. In fact, the independence of playing and learning is also stolen in the practice.

4. There are extreme risk aspects that are associated with child marriage in India, such as, getting STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) like HIV. Girl child does not have much knowledge about pregnancy and babies of these small girls are more probable to health issues like low birth weights malnutrition, etc.

How to spread social awareness about Child Marriage in India?

The following steps should be taken to spread social awareness about child marriage in India:

1. Children have to be taught regarding their civil rights. They should know that when to decline and protest against the forceful child marriage.

2. Media can also play an important role in making people aware of child marriage in India. They can telecast some television programs or shows about this monstrous ritual which can create a massive change in the attitude of the people.

3. There should be strict laws and legal provision against the child marriage in India that can stop this evil from occurring. People indulging in such marriages should be punished reasonably by the law.

4. Government organizations and NGOs should work together to decelerate the practice of child marriage in India.

5. The current provision of punishment for child marriage in India is a few months along with some amount of fine which is completely insufficient. The severity of punishment should also increase to tackle this problem.

6. There should be an appointment of officers for the anti-child wedding in every single Indian State. There should be a rule that anybody who appears in child marriage in India must inform about it to the concerning officer for stopping this disaster to happen.

Conclusion:

Child marriage in India should be abolished and this can only be done if people become aware of the massive consequences of this evil. Child marriage not only spoils the childhood of the kids but also their coming future.

Essay on Child Marriage in India – For College and University Students (Essay 7 – 750 Words)

As per Indian law, a girl before the age of 18 and a boy before the age of 21 are not considered eligible to marry. Any such disobedience is considered as child marriage and is regarded as unlawful and is a punishable offence. However, the law of terming child marriage as a punishable offence is relatively new with having come into existence just a few years before India gained independence from the British rule. Prior to it, child marriage was an accepted social practice prevalent in almost all parts of the country.

Historical Reference of Child Marriage:

The origin of the practice of child marriage is not known, though it is believed to have been commonly practised across the world before the 19^th century. Girls, as soon as they attained puberty were required to be married off. This finds a reference in the Dharamsatra as well. Additionally, there is a mention in Manusmriti that it is an offence on part of the parents to marry off a girl before she has attained puberty or if it has been more than three years after she has attained puberty. Similarly, a boy is required to be married off before he attained the age of 16 years.

Association of Dowry with Child Marriage:

The offering of gifts and wealth to the groom’s family by the bride’s family is called dowry. It has long been associated with child marriage in India. A common practice across all religions in India, it is often correlated to the age of the bride. In other words, more the age of the bride, more the demand of the dowry will be. This fear of more dowry has led to more prevalence of child marriage in India. Additionally, poverty has also been a major factor driving people towards child marriage.

Child Marriage Laws in India:

The first law against the child marriage in India came during the British rule. In the year 1929, the then British Government came up with the Child Marriage Restraint Act, which was later referred to as the Sarda Act. This law prohibited the marriage of boys under the age of 21 years and girls under the age of 18 years. Except for some states such as Jammu and Kashmir and Hyderabad, this act was enacted upon the entire country on 1 April 1930. Initially, the act proposed an imprisonment of up to three months in case of disobedience which was further amended in the years 1940 and 1978.

The Child Marriage Restraint act had some shortcomings. These shortcomings were addressed with the introduction of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act in the year 2006. Under this law, the boys and the girls forced into marriage were provided with the option of terming their marriage as void and the dowry so given was returned to the bride’s family.

Initiatives by the Government:

According to the information of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), an aggregate number of 169, 222 and 280 cases have been enlisted under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006 in the year 2012, 2013 and 2014 individually.

As per the information provided by the Government in the Lok Sabha, it is concerned about the pervasiveness of Child Marriages in the nation and has set up essential enactment viz. Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) 2006 to handle the issue. The States/UTs now and again is as a rule routinely sought after for compelling usage of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. Further, State Governments are asked to take the unique activity to postpone marriage by facilitated endeavours on Akha Teejthe customary day for such marriages. Advertisements in the press and electronic media instructing people groups about the issue of Child Marriage and so forth are additionally being taken up. Stages, for example, the International Women’s Day and the National Girl Child Day are utilized to make mindfulness on issues identified with ladies and to convey to the inside stage issues, for example, kid marriage. Through the Sabla program of this Ministry, girls in the age gathering of 11 to 18 years are conferred preparing with respect to legitimate privileges of women which additionally incorporates the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.

Conclusion:

Not all practices prevalent in the society were meant to benefit the people. Some of them need to be changed with time. Child Marriage is one such practice which should be stopped altogether. However, this cannot be possible only by enacting laws. The people of the country should equally support the government and oppose whenever they encounter such practices. Then only we can be successful in abolishing this practice altogether throughout the country.

Essay on Child Marriage in India – Long Essay for Competitive Exams Like IAS, IPS and UPSC (Essay 8 – 1000 Words)

Child Marriage Concept:

Child marriage in India is still a prevalent practice. So far, we can’t seem to overcome the dark reality of child marriage in India. In a layman’s language, child marriage in India means involving a boy and girl to get into the marital bond, with or without their consent.

However, that is not the only case for child marriage in India. Most of the time, a minor girl is married off to an adult male. Such incidences are plenty and fall under the category of child marriage in India. And though most child marriages in India take place in villages, their occurrence in the urban areas cannot be denied.

In technical terms, if the girl is below eighteen years and the boy is below twenty-one years of age, then, their marriage would be considered a child marriage in India. It is believed that the youngsters below the respective ages are not mature enough.

In the case of child marriage in India, both the candidates can neither understand, give a genuine viewpoint, nor make a decision on the serious matter of marriage. Hence, such wedlock is regarded as child marriage in India. The practice of child marriage in India is highest in Bihar and lowest in Himachal Pradesh.

Factors Responsible:

Child marriage in India is practiced mostly in the rural parts of the country. There are many important factors which contribute to the existence of child marriage in India. Preference of boys over girls among rural people causes them to see the female child as a burden. Consequently, parents often marry off their daughters at an early age, resulting in child marriage in India.

Child marriage in India is also related to poverty. As the people in villages and small towns do not have sufficient sources of income, to them, marrying the girl child would mean fewer mouths to feed. Not only that, but child marriage in India also involve selling the minor girl to the groom’s family.

Lack of education has an equal role in child marriage in India. When adults are not well-educated, they are unaware of the severe impacts of child marriage in India. The absence of awareness for the mental, physical, and emotional repercussions of this malpractice leads to the perpetuation of child marriage in India.

Social customs and traditions still define the mindset of particular castes and communities in the society. Child marriage in India has been practiced since the invasion by the Mughals and then the Britishers. It was performed to protect the young girls from abduction and sexual abuses.

Nonetheless, the modern scenario of child marriage in India revolves around the patriarchal system. Girls do not have much say when it comes to their sexual rights and freedom. It is the male who possesses more power in such matters.

Consequences of Child Marriage:

Child marriage in India imposes many untimely hardships upon both girls and boys. The male child has to take up the role of breadwinner for his wife. The female child has to indulge in sex and motherhood, even when she is not prepared for it mentally, physically and psychologically.

In many ways, child marriage in India steals childhood away from the minors. It crushes their dreams and innocence. Child marriage in India has gruesome effects on the mind and body of the girl child. The body of a young girl is not fully developed. She is also vulnerable emotionally. An early marriage disturbs her whole health poorly.

Unwanted and multiple pregnancies suck the life out of her. Sometimes, the painful process of childbirth may also cause the death of the young mother. Miscarriages are common in the young brides. Child marriage in India is the major cause of child mortality.

Even if the childbirth is without any complications, both mother and child suffer from malnutrition and poor weight. Their immunity is low and so, they are more prone to falling sick frequently. The child marriage in India also takes a toll on the girl as they have to carry out all the household works at such a young age.

Obviously, due to child marriage in India, the girl’s basic right to education is violated which ultimately drives her to a hopeless future. Bereaved of education and awareness, the couple has higher chances to acquire sexually transmitted diseases, like AIDS and HIV, etc. They are ill-informed about the use of contraceptives and benefits of family planning.

Dealing with the Issue:

The first step toward ending the child marriage in India is to create awareness through every possible medium. Expectations from the government and official systems are understandable but without the support of the common public, child marriage in India would continue to happen.

Basic level of education for boys and girls should be mandatory because the absence of knowledge is the prime cause of child marriage in India. When our younger generation in the rural areas would be well educated, they would be less likely to fall into the trap of child marriages.

Info-graphic posters, interesting radio advertisements, folk songs, and folklores are quite effective in catching the attention of adults as well as young ones. Academic teachings have very limited use in the personal lives of people. Young ones must be informed of their basic human rights to refuse child marriages and to call it void, if at all.

Spreading awareness through various financial and non-financial campaigns can do wonders to throw off the system of child marriage in India on the root level. Street plays also known as Nukkad Natak, are entertaining ways to educate the rural population about the drawbacks of child marriages.

Enough laws have been made to protect the children from this evil malpractice. The problem is that of effective implementation. Unless and until the system would be prompt in its response, the child marriages in India would be difficult to catch hold of. Both public and NGOs have an essential role to play in the proper functioning of the government system.