NCPCR raises the concern about the increased child marriage rate in India. Chairperson of NCPCR writes down to Rajasthan governor regarding the newly amended bill.
On Friday, Rajasthan Assembly passed the Rajasthan Compulsory Registration of Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021. This bill amended the 2009 Act, and the new bill states that parents must register all marriages of minors within 30 days of the wedding.
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) examined this newly amended bill and expressed their concern regarding the impact of this bill on minors. The commission wrote their problem to Kalraj Mishra, Rajasthan Governor. They mention that the enactment of this bill leads to a significant impact on the health and education of minors.
The National Crime Record Bureau reports an increase in the rate of child marriage during this pandemic situation from the start of 2020. There is a report of 785 cases all over India under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act in 2020.Â
The Chairperson of NCPCR, Priyank Kanoongo, said that as the guardian for protecting the rights of all children in India, NCPCR would have to intervene in the imposing of this act to make sure that the state does not violate child rights.
She also requests the lawmakers of Rajasthan to be sensitive with the children and rethink the amended law.
BJP, the opposition of the ongoing legislation, also slammed this bill, reasoning that the act can increase the child marriage rate and violate child rights.
What does the new bill say?
The new bill states that the parents or guardians must register the marriages between boys below the age of 21 and girls below 18 within 30 days of the wedding.
Also, the bride and groom can register for their marriage at the registration office located where they have been living for more than 30 days.
The changes made in Rajasthan
According to the 2009 Rajasthan Compulsory Registration of Marriages Act, strict registration of marriages of bride and groom under the age of 18 is must within 30 days of marriage, where the age criteria for both boys and girls were 21.
The latest amendment decreases the age of girls to 18; parents or guardians must register any marriage of boys below the age of 21 and girls below the age of 18 within 30 days.
How can the act impact children?
The detailed examination of NCPCR reveals that the recent change made in the Marriage Registration Act in Rajasthan can impact the children in many ways, such as:
- Destructive influence on the health of the child
- It prevents the child from getting the necessary, proper education
- Increase in the child marriage rate
- Mental exhaustion of the child
- Breakage of child rights and child development trust issue in society
- Physical and psychological weakening of child and lead to trauma
What does NCPCR do?
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights is a commission developed under the Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 by the Parliament. They function for safeguarding the rights of all children in India as their guardians and suggest many reasonable laws suitable for the children.
As they have come to know about the recent amendment made in the Rajasthan Marriage Registration Act through media, they have done a detailed study of this act and concluded the adverse impacts that are going to have on children and wrote their concern to the Rajasthan Governor.
Why the sudden rise of child marriage?
All over India, there is a sudden increase in the child marriage rate in 2020-21. The sudden attack of pandemic brought the economy down, and businesses went in the loss.Â
In rural areas, farmers and other daily wagers went into poverty and financial crisis due to this. These people were no longer able to afford the education of the child. Thus, they force girl children to marry without their consent and will.
