Child marriages: The other side

Malappuram: Jenna, 17, (name changed) is one of the bright  students  of a Plus-Two class  in a higher secondary school in the north-eastern part of Malappuram district. Like everyone else in her class, Jenna is also keen on scoring high marks for a better future. But one thing has set her apart from others.  She had faced a  bitter experience  by being an underage bride at the age of 16. And more pitifully, she is divorced now. The only factor that helps her  leave everything behind and go ahead is her longing for more education.   She is from Moothedam panchayat where 12 unlawful marriages were thwarted by a court last week.

Jenna’s story sheds light on the bitter reality of  child marriages in Malappuram, a district haunted by the  menace in spite of many laudable strides and developments over the past few years, especially in   education. Unofficial statistics say  that the number of divorcees is also relatively high in areas where the child marriages are rampant. “A sneak peek at  the details of the applications for educational aid from the government meant for the schoolgoing children of the women-headed families  confirms that an alarming number of mothers of 16-17- year-old students are  either divorced or deserted by their husbands,” says Dr. R. Preethakumari, Child Development Programme Officer (CPMO, Nilambur Additional), under the Integrated Child Development Project (ICDS) of the department of Social Justice.  This shows that a large number of mothers were victims of early marriage in the past and their children too often get victimised, she said.

The lack of data on the divorced victims of child marriage with the authorities concerned makes the issue more complex. According to officials, no survey has been conducted to get a clear picture of such divorcees. However, ICDS field workers and social workers suggest a high number of such divorcees in many places.   “Such divorces are the grave consequence of underage marriage.  The immaturity of underage girls plays a great part in these cases. There are many instances,” says Aryadan Shoukath, former chairman of Nilambur municipality who led a massive campaign against the menace.

Student brides

ICDS supervisors who work at  the ground level to prevent underage marriages say that  many girl students whose marriages were religiously solemnised still study  in higher secondary schools in Moothedam, Edakkara, Vazhikkadavu and Pothukallu panchayats. “Many people have taken the seriousness of the issue into account and have stepped back from such marriages. But a section of society still  evades  the law and conducts secret marriages  away from their homes. Such cases are exposed when the girls spill the beans because of their apathy towards married life at a young age. Many of them are interested to pursue their studies,” says K. Fasiya, an ICDS supervisor who worked for years in the area. The menace is also rampant among the Scheduled Castes in the region.

The issue is rooted in the economic backwardness of the parents. “The first concern of average lower middle class parents is to marry their daughters  off before they  complete  their education. The chances of finding grooms get more difficult as the age goes up. The grooms prefer girls aged 16-18.  This is not the case in educated and well-off families,” she said. E.K. Shaneer,   a guest faculty of Government  Higher Secondary School, Edakkara,  also shared the same opinion. “In contrast to the popular notion,  most of the educated men in these areas still prefer girls at tender ages  to mould them as per their calculations,” he said.

The parents dodge the law by secretly conducting Nikah, the religious solemnisation of marriage, on the pretext of  engagements. In some cases the grooms often go back to Gulf courtiers where they work after Nikah and wait until the girl reaches adulthood for the marriage.  But in many cases the underage girls are  taken away from their homes by the grooms with the consent of parents for short stays, says an ICDS supervisor.  

Beyond statistics
However,  the law has brought visible changes in the district.  Mahallu committees of local mosques in the district have stopped registering marriages of those below 18 years because of the frequent scrutiny from panchayat or municipal authorities.  The Social Justice department statistics also suggest decreasing trend over the past four years. Even though the district which is the most populous in the state has the highest number (3,615) of married girls aged below 15,  according to the 2011 census, it is still below the state average of 0.604 per cent. Malappuram had only 0.54 per cent. (district wise statistic-Table 2)

The statistics apart, the District Child Protection Unit, the Child Development Officers/ Child Marriage Prevention Officers and ICDS supervisors are aware of the rampant practice which is beyond the official data. “The CDPOs and ICDS supervisors often get threats from local leaders, ward members and relatives for protecting the girls from underage marriages. But their work in the field has brought a great change. They are instrumental in finding and intervening in such cases which are often go  unnoticed because of the secrecy and lack of documental evidence,” says Sameer Machingal, the District Child Protection Officer.

Taking the cases to the court has almost proved to be the right measure to curb the menace. “For the past several months,  we could prevent many attempts of unlawful marriages by obtaining injunction order from the magistrate,” Preethakumari said. Last year the ICDS supervisors had  come across around 70 suspected cases of underage marriages in four panchayats. “We will soon scrutinise these cases to find the current status,” she said. From January to September 30 this year,  the District Child Protection Unit has prevented 40 child marriage attempts of which eight were through injunction order from the court. The Social Justice department has designed and implemented several programmes and campaigns against the child marriage in Malappuram and more innovative schemes will be launched soon.

CMPOs face threats

The strict monitoring and prevention of child marriages in the high-ranges of Nilambur and the coastal belt of Parappanangadi  in Malappuram has invited the wrath of a section of people. The Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPOs) working in these areas face constant threats.  They are  mocked at by calling them   ‘Kalyanam Kalakkikal’   (those who abort marriages). Due to the increasing threat, all the 29 CMPOs in the district had met the district superintendent  of police seeking protection.  “I have ensured   protection to them.   They can directly inform me of any  threat that they face  through phone or directly. We are determined to nail the menace of  child marriage,” SP Debesh Kumar Behera said.  

The ground-level Anganwadi workers and child counsellors in schools also face the brunt if they come in the way of a child marriages. “The Anganwadi worker at Moothedam panchayat, who tipped us off about the 12 possible child marriages,  was warned of  dire consequences,” said an official at SJ department. The officials  point out that some other parts of Malappuram like Manjeri have stamped  out these kinds of threats. “It is common to see more students from Malappuram, especially girls,  pursuing medicine and other professional courses. A sizeable number of youngsters are studying in universities like JNU, Delhi and Hyderabad,” he said.