Question : Child Marriages

(a) the details of cases of child marriages reported/registered in various parts of the country during each of the last three years and the current year, State/UT wise;
(b) whether the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has also identified a large number of districts having high incidence of child marriages and if so, the details thereof;
(c) the detailed reasons of child marriages and its effect on infant and maternal mortality rate in the country, particularly in rural areas;
(d) whether the Government/NCPCR has issued any directions/guidelines or advisory to the States/UTs in this regard, if so, the details and the compliance status thereof; and
(e) whether the Government also proposes to review/amend the implementation of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 and if so, the details thereof along with the other measures taken by the Government to prevent child marriages in the country?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
(SHRIMATI KRISHNA RAJ)

(a): As per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, a total number of 280, 293 and 326 cases have been registered under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) 2006 in the year 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively. The States/UTs wise details of number of cases registered under Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 during 2013 to 2016 are at Annexure-I.

(b): National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) made “A Statistical Analysis of Child Marriage in India based on Census 2011” wherein 70 districts out of 640 districts with high incidence of child marriages were identified. The list of these 70 districts is at Annexure -II.

(c): The reasons for child marriage are complex and it is a mindset problem which considers girl child as a burden. Social customs, tradition, illiteracy, poverty, low status of women in society, lack of awareness about consequences of child marriage are some of the other reasons that encourage the practice of child marriage. Further, marriage at a young age for girls increases their fertility span which often results in early pregnancy and multiple pregnancies, birth complications, delivery of low birth-weight babies, adding to both higher infant mortality and maternal mortality ratio.

(d): National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has issued advisory to all the States/UTs requesting them to take effective steps to prevent child marriage in the country especially as occasions of Akshaya Tritya/Akha Teej and other similar festivals.

(e): There is no proposal under consideration to amend the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. The Government of India has enacted the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 in order to prohibit child marriages rather than only restraining them. States/UTs from time to time are being regularly pursued for effective implementation of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. However, the issues involved is the prevalence of child marriage cannot be tackled by legislative interventions alone. This is a continuous process and Government undertakes media campaigns and outreach programmes to address this.

*******