In many rural areas in Rajasthan, the birth of a daughter is still considered bad luck and an economic liability. To reduce the family’s economic burden, girls are married off young.
While child marriage is harmful to both boys and girls, it impacts girls more because it not only restricts their educational opportunities but also compels them into early childbirth. This makes them not only more likely to suffer from malnutrition but also domestic violence and abuse, as well as complications due to early childbirth.
It is estimated that 40 per cent of the world’s child brides live in India, with Rajasthan being one of the states where the practice of child marriage still persists. In fact, one out of eight child brides married in India between the ages of 10-14 live in Rajasthan.
To throw more light on the issue of child marriage in Rajasthan, I interviewed Chenaram Bishnoi who has been working on the issue of child rights in the state since 2005 and currently leads a 35-member team for Childline in Bikaner.
Harsh Dixit (HD): To begin, I would like to know a bit about your journey.
Chenaram Bishnoi (CB): I am a resident of Bikaner, Rajasthan and my journey with the Urmul Trust started in 2005 when I joined as a volunteer for a survey program on drinking water in Rajasthan. I have worked on various kinds of projects associated with water, disability, agriculture, dairy, ICDS nutrition, and adolescent rights, as well as monitoring and implementation of central government schemes with Panchayati Raj Institutions. I have been working as a district coordinator and administrator with Childline since 2014. Currently, I lead a team of 35 members, and we work collectively to secure child rights in Bikaner.
HD: As a part of my research, I found out that Childline has been working for quite some time to safeguard child rights. Can you share how Childline works and what are the major issues your team members face on the field?
CB: As part of our aim to secure child rights, our major work deals with rescuing children from different kinds of social evils and by default we work to stop early marriages whenever we get any complaints. Since we don’t have the right to act on our own, we work with various government departments to stop child marriages from taking place and rescue child brides from abusive households.
After signing an MOU with the Indian railway, Railway Childline has also been functioning in Bikaner since 2019 to rescue kids from rampant human trafficking being done through trains. Other than this, we also work to increase awareness regarding child rights in the communities through nukkad naataks, and workshops in schools. We provide counselling to kids and families from vulnerable communities to raise awareness.
Since we have a healthy relationship with the communities here and we work in collaboration with the police department, we don’t face many issues but there have been occasions when our team members have met with dangerous situations while working on the field.
HD: What role, if any, does the financial condition of a family in child marriage?
CB: If we look at the case of Rajasthan, we will find that the main reason behind so many cases of child marriage is illiteracy, lack of awareness, and poverty. Although general awareness levels around the issue have increased in the past twenty years, the level of awareness among Rajasthani people on gender equality is still low.
(We have to understand) Child marriage was a common practice until twenty years ago. The legal age for marrying a girl was 14. I come from a well-to-do family, yet my marriage was fixed when I was in sixth class, and my gauna was done when I was pursuing my master’s. So although poor financial condition is a factor, I won’t say that it’s the only reason for so many cases in Rajasthan. We deal with many cases where the family isn’t poor, and still, this is happening.
HD: According to some news reports, the Union government is planning to increase the legal age of girls from 18 to 21. What impact, if any, do you think it will have on the rate of child marriages in Rajasthan?
CB: The problem of child marriage is deep-rooted and complex, and as far as I have understood while working in Rajasthan, I don’t think just law alone is enough to remove such practices that are in some way or another considered a part of the culture. Increasing the legal age to 21 without addressing the problematic norms of society and targeting the multiple factors that give rise to the issue may even have the opposite effects.
A community that hasn’t been sensitized and considers girls as a burden will never take this decision positively, and it can increase female foeticide in the state. I am not against increasing the legal age of marriage for girls. I am just pointing out that the union govt should consult with NGOs working on the issue before drafting a bill on such a sensitive issue.
HD: What is your opinion on the Rajasthan government’s bill to legalize all marriages? Was it done to woo the voters of the state?
CB: Since early marriages are illegal, those who do it lose the right to get benefits from several government policies, be it on health or employment. Unfortunately, this bill was just a gimmick to woo voters of some regions of Rajasthan like Bhilwara, Pali, Jodhpur etc., where early marriage is still practised more frequently as compared to other regions of the state.
HD: You said that you work with the community on the issue of addressing child marriage. Why do people trust you instead of going directly to the police?
CB: The reason behind the success of Childline all over India is majorly because of the way we work. People write complaints to us instead of the police because we understand the sensitivity of such cases and act quickly to ensure that the informer’s identity doesn’t get disclosed.
Another thing is that there is no possibility of our team members taking bribes from culprits and helping them instead of serving people. Sometimes, the case remains open for two months, but we make sure the problem is solved permanently, and the child is safe. This has enabled us to build a healthy and trustworthy relationship with the community.
HD: What is your opinion on Assam government’s drive to arrest and punish those who have been involved in child marriages? Do you think such action can help?
CB: A normal marriage ceremony consists of more than 150 people participating in it. If we look at Prevention of Child Marriage Act, it says that each and everyone who has participated in the ceremony should be put behind bars. It is impossible to put each culprit behind bars, considering the high number of cases of child marriages in the country. These laws are made to stop evil practices from happening by putting fear in the minds of the people.
The action of the Assam Government is not only harsh but isn’t in any way near to the solution. It may look like that these arrest drives are quite effective, but these reactionary actions don’t even address the problem, let alone solve it. Unless we work on eliminating poverty, providing quality education, and increasing awareness among people, such practices will continue to be present in society.
HD: What are some suggestions that you would like to give to policymakers that can help combat this evil practice in Rajasthan?
CB: In the last ten years, there has been a major reduction in the number of child marriages happening in the country, especially in Rajasthan. The constant efforts of non-profit organizations and various government programs to secure the rights of women and their time-to-time monitoring have played a vital role in this small win. If we wish to eradicate such social evils from society, we require such schemes and programs.
The role of Panchayati Raj Institutes in ensuring access to schemes for the most marginalized communities of our society is vital, and efforts should be made to sensitize PRI members. This will make sure that the government’s policies on sensitive issues are being accepted positively by the people living in remote villages of the country.
Another important thing I would like to suggest here is that a larger involvement of non-profit organizations and social activists working on child marriage is a must while making or implementing policies/schemes. Only then can we think of removing this evil from society.