Children below the age of 19 would not be physically developed and mentally prepared for marital life and hence performing child marriages is socially and legally incorrect and an offence, K.S. Mudgal, Principal District and Sessions Judge said.
Inaugurating a workshop to sensitise judicial officials about the prevailing laws and steps to curb child marriages here on Sunday, Ms. Mudgal said child marriages would not only affect children who get married, but also have a debilitating effect for two generations.
The Judge called upon the Department of Women and Child Welfare to educate people, particularly those is rural areas, about the ill-effects of child marriages and also enlighten them about the legal consequences they may have to face in case they perform child marriages.
“Parents who venture to perform the marriages of their children may have to undergo two years imprisonment and pay a fine of Rs. 1 lakh,” she added.
Children would be deprived of education, health and their rights, if their marriages were performed at an early age, she said adding that children must be encouraged and provided with all facilities to continue their studies till they attain a minimum age to get married. “If children go to colleges and then work for a few years, their confidence level would increase … they would be in a position to face any eventualities,” Ms.Mudgal said.
The Judge further noted that as per the national family health survey, over 45 per cent of women had married before attaining the age of 18 in the country in 2005-2006. Over 16 per cent of women in the age group of 15-19 got married during the same period, she said and added that many of them were pregnant while some of them had even become mothers when the survey was conducted. India is ranked 11{+t}{+h}in the world with regards to the highest number of under-aged women getting married, she said adding that over 50 per cent of women had married before attaining the age of 18.
As per the 2001 census, over three lakh girls had given birth even before attaining the age of 15, she said. “In Karnataka, 22 per cent of girls had married when they were below the age of 18,” Ms.Mudagal said.
The Deputy Director of Women and Child Development Department said that the department had prevented 34 child marriages in 2015-16 and prevented over 111 child marriages in 2014-15. Dinesh Hegde, secretary of Legal Aid Services Authority, was present.
