Child marriage scenario still worrying in Bihar: Report

As per District Level Household Survey data (DLHS-3), the status of the child marriage in the intervention areas of CRY-supported projects, Jamui has the highest percentage of girls married under the age of 18 years, closely followed by Banka, Nawada, West Champaran and Samastipur districts.

With an aim to relook at the current status of child marriage and to arrive at a roadmap to address the issue in a meaningful and sustained manner, Bihar Lok Adhikar Manch (BLAM), in collaboration with CRY – Child Rights and You, organised a state-level consultation seminar here in Patna.

According to the organizers, the objective of the day-long consultation was to bring all concerned stakeholders and duty-bearers at one platform on this issue, and call for concrete action to initiate dialogue towards implementation of CMP rules in the state. Before this program Bihar Lok Adhikar Manch conducted district level consultations and community level awareness program on child marriage issue. 

Appreciating NGO interventions towards reduction of child marriage, Jagjit Kaur, Deputy Director, Deptt of Social Welfare said, "State Govt has launched several programs for girl children and is ready to extend any kind of support.” She also assured that DCPU will be the key instrument in this regard.

Elaborating the socio-cultural backdrop, Saradindu Bandyopadhyay, CRY operations in-charge in Bihar said, “It is the manifestation of age-old practices and cultural norms linked with patriarchal social system, lack of opportunity of education and protective environment for girls.” According to him, existing legal frameworks cannot alone eradicate the evil, until there is an overall change of mindset of the society at large.”

According to the organizers, ensuring education for girl children is the only long-term solution. Rajiv Ranjan, the State Coordinator of BLAM said, “Society will be free from child marriages when every child will be linked with quality education.”

“Change in the mindset, opportunity of education, gender equality can ameliorate the issue. All the stake holders and duty bearers have to play their role in this regard, said Udayji, a senior patron of BLAM.

Among the districts in Bihar where CRY and BLAM have their presence, Jamui accounts for a whopping more than 70 percent of girl child marriage as DLHS-3 data shows, followed by Nawada (65.3%), Banka (59%), West Champaran (57.8%) and Samastipur (51%).  

Data from three consecutive household surveys across India showed that the rate of child marriage among girls under age 15 is declining at more than twice the rate than among girls under 18 years of age. The decline for girls under 15 years of age is 30% as compared to 13% reduction for girls under the age of 18.
Over the past fifteen years, as the Annual Healthy Survey 2011 data shows, child marriage has declined by just 11 percent – less than one percent per year.
While this can be interpreted as a sign of progress, it is still not sufficient to guarantee children their full rights in terms of education, sexual and reproductive health and the right to self determination.

According to the latest official data, the states with highest rates of child marriage (50% and above) are Bihar, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. But even in low prevalence states there may be pockets of with high rates of child marriage.

According to DLHS data, around 48% of married women in the 20-24 year age group got married before 18 in rural areas, compared with 29% in urban areas.