The right to be a child

The Delhi High Court has recently ruled that the marriage of a girl above the age of 15 is legally valid, provided she does so of her free w...

The Delhi High Court has recently ruled that the marriage of a girl above the age of 15 is legally valid, provided she does so of her free will, as she had reached the “age of discretion”. In the Indian context, the only viable route to weed out child marriage is positive social legislation and mandatory implementation with due protection by the courts. It is to this effect that in March 2005, concerned over rampant child marriages, the Supreme Court issued urgent directions to all district collectors and superintendents of police to take steps to prevent the illegal practice.

Legislation such as the 86th Amendment Act, which makes free education for all children an inviolable fundamental right, has no meaning for a majority of the target beneficiaries as they are oblivious to their own privileges. Girls are usually not equipped with the tools to face life either in terms of education or life-skills. Marriage for girls means the onset of childbearing and they face premature pregnancies which can raise the risk of maternal and infant mortality as well as sexually transmitted diseases.

If a girl can marry at 15, criminals can use marriage as a bait to lure girls and coerce or coax them into declaring their consent in court. The Suryanelli case of 1996 involved a 16-year-old girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted for 40 days by 42 men after running away from home with a bus conductor with whom she was involved. The media lapped up the incident. A special court convicted 36 accused during 2000-2002 and termed the offences as rarest of rare. The Kerala High Court overturned that verdict in January this year. It was said that since the girl didn’t resist assault, the accused had no way of knowing the state of her willingness. It is extremely disturbing that the case became an inquisition into the girl’s character instead of taking the perpetrators to task for minor-abuse.

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It is essential, therefore, to have a law wherein sex with a minor is considered ‘statutory rape’, irrespective of the child’s consent. It would give law enforcers a clear platform to work on and predators will think twice before taking advantage of children.

It is a fact that populations with later average ages of marriage have higher education levels and higher usage of birth control. Later marriage enables a woman to complete her studies and develop work skills, encouraging her to limit family size and space childbirth. The World Fertility Survey shows that early adolescent marriage is directly related to illness and underdevelopment in women. A higher age of marriage contributes to population control and women’s liberation.

It is the responsibility of law to make sure the baggage of custom, tradition, religion and poverty does not deny boys and girls of their basic right to simply be children.