Child Marriages Shot Up Post-Covid In Maharashtra, A State Which Was Already Reeling From This Menace

Maharashtra Women's Commission chief Rupali Chakankar has said the number of child marriages in the state increased after lockdown restrictions were imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, she did not give figures or a timeframe in connection with her statement on increasing child marriages in Maharashtra.

Need for gram sabhas to pass resolutions to curb child marriages

Chakankar said 37 child marriages were stopped in Latur alone, and cases were registered in connection with two of these incidents, addressing a press conference on Monday.

The advent of mobile phones and other forms of technology created a "communication gap" between parents and children, which may be resulting in girls falling in love and eloping, she claimed.

BCCL

"Some 18,000 complaints from 28 districts have been resolved by the commission under the Mahila Aayog Aplya Dari initiative. On Monday, we received 93 complaints in Latur, and three panels will work towards solving them speedily," she said.

As a way of solution, Chakankar said that the gram sabhas must pass resolutions to curb child marriages strictly, and action must be taken against all those involved, including units that print wedding invites for them.

She further added that the police's 'Damini squad' must interact more with girls to protect them.

How early marriage compromises girls' lives

A report submitted to the Bombay High Court in April last year noted that in the last three years, there have been 15,253 cases of child marriage in the sixteen mostly tribal-dominated districts of Maharashtra.

The Bombay High Court had then said, "It is indeed required for the government with regard to the high number of child marriages prevalent in tribal community to sensitise elders in such communities and to make them aware of the ill effects of the child marriages as well as violation of rights of children as enumerated in multiple legislations."

According to the NFHS-5 (2019-21), Maharashtra recorded the highest percentage (21.9%) of women married before age 18.

BCCL

With lockdown-led job losses, school closures and reduced surveillance by district machinery focused on Covid-19 management, several minor girls were made to leap straight from childhood to marriage, as stated by a TOI report.

A report titled 'How early marriage compromises girls' lives, Maharashtra' by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) and Population Council states that child marriage adversely impacts girls' lives, beginning from a lack of close interaction with their spouse, more common instances of violence to impacting their decision-making ability and self-confidence.

The report states that there needs to be a focus on addressing the health and empowerment needs of married young women, enabling them to have greater control over resources, breaking down their social isolation and encouraging couple communication, negotiation and conflict management skills early in marriage.

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