Child marriage is an age old practice that is still prevalent in India, especially in the state of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana till today.
The development and modernization of India and with the implementation of the strict rules of marriageable age to be 18 for girls and 21 for boys has resulted in a considerable downfall in the number of child marriages.
Still there is a lack of awareness in small villages where the illegal practice of Child marriage is prevalent.
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Child Marriage Has Fatal Consequences:
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1. The girl who gets married as a child is confined in the four walls of the household even before she enters puberty. In almost all the cases, the married girl child gains no further education thus increasing the illiteracy rate in India.
2. Some child marriages are conducted between a girl child and an old man. Though this is astonishing but this is true. As a result of this these girls get widowed by the time they attain adulthood and most of the society do not allow widows to remarry. A girl child has to live the life of a widow for no fault of hers.
3. As a result of child marriage, the girl child is considered merely as an object of pleasure by her in her husband and other members of the family.
Apart from this a girl child who is married by her parents does not and cannot possess a will of her own. She is just like any other electronic object of the house that can be controlled as and when necessary. As a result of child marriages, Indian women at large cannot participate in worldly affairs thus hindering its social, economic and political development as a whole.
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How can a country prosper when a section of young women are confined into the walls of a household and the only thing expected from them is pleasing her family and rearing and tearing of children? Even bonded slaves are in a better position than the women who have to face this fatal accident known as child marriage.
What is required on the part of the citizens and the government in general is to join hands and raise a movement so wide that every parent could only visualize themselves locked up in jails even if they think of committing such a crime.
It is essential on the part of the citizens to remain active. People who witness child marriages should be determined enough to launch a police complaint against the parents of both the bride and groom.
It is essential on the part of the government to award the people who inform about the conduction of child marriages and also to enforce harder laws to discourage this practice. Thus by helping two children from entering into such a horrendous affair, you are assuring a brighter future not only for these children but for India as a whole.