Women

Question 1

Child marriage stats

Answer 1

1. State of the World popln report 2020 UNFPA, globally 1/5 girls married before 18
   
   2. India - sharp decline last 10 yrs - 47 to 27% - UN
   3. India home to 1/3 child brides in the world
   4. decline reasons (UN children’s agency) - girls’ edn, proactive govt investments adolescent girls, public awareness

Question 2

Child marriage reasons

Answer 2

1. Poverty
   a. Wealth quintile data- poorest households concentrated in rural India (ST 45%, 25.9% SC, 9% Gen)
   b. Socio-economic necessities; Girls - Liability, limited economic role
   c. higher on wealth quintile, woman marries late
2. Poor edn
   a. Better edn levels –> delayed marriage, not reverse
   i. Min 12 yrs schooling - marry late - NFHS 2015-16
   ii. No schooling 42% ST, 33% SC women
   iii. 12-plus years of edn - 10% ST, 15% SC women / 30% gen women 21% OBC.
   b. Main reasons:
   i. loss of interest in studies
   ii. prohibitive cost of edn
   iii. burden of household work
   iv. schools located far away
   v. Mrrg - Only 8% rural girls drop out in 6-17 age grp
3. Female infanticide - shortage of girls –> Marriage squeeze –> child mrrg
4. Rural-urban divide - marry earlier/ urban counterparts
5. Geographic location

Question 3

Consequences of child marriage

Answer 3

1. lack of opps for edn
   
   2. Health risks
      a. Early pregnancy - health of child, mother at risk;
      b. Higher MMR, IMRs/ntnl avg in those states
      c. Adolescent mothers (10-19) –> premature/low wt babies; 5% more stunted/adult mothers (20-24)
      d. lack of protection child brides - STDs- HIV/AIDS.
   3. Violence- bonded labour, enslavement, commercial sexual exploitation
   4. mentally unprepared –> isolation, depression

Question 4

Legal provisions against child marriage

Answer 4

1. personal laws, PCMA 2006 - 18 girls, 21 boys.
   
   2. PCMA - 18+ man - <18 woman, abetting parents of minors - 2 yr imprisonment.
   3. Compounded by POCSO Act, 2012 incr age of consent, from 16 to 18
   4. Impact of 18 to 21 on marginalised rural communities - Dalit, Adivasi women
      a. hurdles for access to reprod, sexual healthcare.
      b. SC-STs - least recourse to legal safeguards, greater risk
      c. need to address caste-based disparities/blanket laws

Question 5

Govt schemes for girls’ edn

Answer 5

1. BBBP - save from social ills - gender abortions; advance edn, participation; change social attitudes
   
   2. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana - govt backed savings scheme - girl child, primary a/c holder; parent/legal guardian - joint holder; Withdrawal option for h.edn
   3. Balika Samriddhi Yojana - scholarship scheme/fin support young girls-mothers BPL; improve status in society, increase marriageable age, enrollment + retention in schools; Withdrawal facility of balance amt after girl 18, unmarried
   4. CBSE Udaan Scheme - enrollment in tech edn, spl focus economically bckwd girls
   5. Ntnl Scheme for incentive to girls for Sec edn - SC/ST passed class 8, unmarried

Question 6

Drawbacks of child marriage laws

Answer 6

1. Criminalises self-arranged, consensual adolescent mrrgs - parents misuse punish couples - inter-caste
   a. 18+ boys in abv cases liable to even face a life term.
   
   2. POCSO requires healthcare providers mandatorily report police cases of <18 sexually active with those older.
   3. patriarchal underpinnings of laws - 18th Law Commission report (2008)
      a. uniformity of 18 years mrrg;
      b. lowering age of consent to 16; (Justice Verma Committee)
      no tackling child brides SC-ST households

Question 7

Solutions

Answer 7

1. Increase social awareness - media, civil society, rights awareness
   
   2. Improve edn, incentivise h.edn, opps for girls - learn, work, earn
      a. Extend RTE Act, 2009 upto 18 yrs to cover children in 14-18 grp
      b. stress access, quality edn –> child mrrg in 15-19 age grp decreased 26.5 to 11.9% (2005-06 to 15-16) - NCPCR
   3. Strong legal, policy system enforcement of laws
      Govt campaigns, awareness - women achievers- Sakshi Malik, Dipa Karmakar, PV sindhu

Question 8

Child marriage conclusion

Answer 8

1. social evils reinforce secondary status of women.
   
   2. Eliminating child marriage, harmful practices to women, girls - SDG targets
   3. Efforts in consonance with socio-economic realities; investment in edn, welfare, opps for women
   4. Reasonable progress - right to divorce, end of polygamy
      +ve: women using constitutional promises to push institutions [(Hindu undivided)Family, religion] towards change

Question 9

19th women basic introdn

Answer 9

1. pathetic condition; Women, untouchables lowest
2. social evil practices
3. Due to bio, phy diff, gender ineq natural/ social
4. Gender - social ineq, excln like caste, class
5. No eq of opps - ednl, pol, social, economic

Question 10

Feminisation of agriculture

Answer 10

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