Zubeda is a resident of Delhi living in the Govindpuri Navjeevan camp, Delhi. Her mother-in-law lives in Agra. She married at the age of seventeen and has two children. She teaches small children and works with an NGO, Child Survival India.
“I wanted to finish my studies. But my parents asked me to get married when I failed my exam. I had no choice but to drop out of school. I moved to Delhi after getting married in Firozabad. My spouse was old at the time, about 30-32 years old, and I was furious with my parents, but life went on. Now that I have two girls and am trying to manage my life,” she told The Sunday Guadian.
The number of child marriages in Delhi is quite underreported as urban people have misconceptions that child marriages are limited to the remote corners of Rajasthan, Bihar, and so forth. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), around 9.8% of women aged 20-24 years are married before the age of 18 in urban areas, while in the rural areas of Delhi, the number is 11.4%. Similarly, in Delhi’s urban areas, approximately 12.1% of men aged 25–29 years married before the age of 21; however, data for rural areas is unavailable. Many girls from the states of Rajasthan, Haryana, and Bihar often get married and stay in Delhi.
Mala (name changed) is a resident of Bihar who got married at the age of 17. Currently, she lives in Delhi and has three daughters. “I got married in 2013, and we came from an underprivileged background, so I couldn’t continue my studies. My relatives also convinced my parents to get me married without my consent. We are six siblings (five sisters and one brother). We are a family of six (five sisters and one brother). My eldest sister married at the age of 12 and we all married before the age of 18,” she told this paper.
Several migrants from the neighboring villages often get married at an early age and stay in Delhi. Deepa Bajaj, the founder of Child Survival India, told this paper, “In Delhi slums, which are mainly inhabited by migrants, many girls still, get married at the young age of 16-17. The consent of the girls is not valued and they are married off early to keep with the traditions of the native family back home. These families, though staying in Delhi, have strong connections with their extended families and come under their pressure.”
She further added, “As a large majority of families have both parents working to meet the family’s needs, they feel that adolescent girl is not safe at home in their jhuggi in slum and get her married off early to get away with responsibilities to protect a girl’s dignity.”
Similarly, Advocate Vikram Srivastava, the Founder of Independent Thought, told this paper, “The most critical issue is that of declaring child marriage as void-ab-intio; which is presently under consideration by Delhi High Court in the ongoing petition, based on the Independent Thought judgment.” He went on to say that, NCRB data for Delhi (UT) is completely out of sync with the number of cases reported to the 11 CWCs and DCPCR, as well as the percentage of cases reflected in NFHS-5 data. The Rajya Sabha dated November 29, 2019 states that Delhi has reported only one case of child marriage in 2013, 2016, and 2017 and two cases in 2014. However, Srivastava stated that around 13 cases of child marriage in Delhi were reported as crimes under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) between 2011-2020.
Supporting the argument on inconsistent data on child marriage, Advocate Afsana Ahmed, who runs the Campaign against Child Marriage, told this correspondent, “Delhi child marriage scenario is unique with all agencies having different data on child marriages and none matches with the numbers shown in NCRB.”
“Delhi State Rules for PCMA are now an outdated document requiring an amendment to strengthen implementation,” Adv. Priya Khanna, Campaign against Child Marriage, added.
When the correspondent approached CWC chairperson Varun Pathak, he said, “Right now, we have not registered any cases of child marriage in the rural establishments of Delhi. However, if we receive any complaint of child marriages happening around, we immediately approach the nearest police station.” Hardly, one to two cases are reported in Delhi every year. Several victims have stated that they do not like to complain once the marriage is solemnised.
