ALS PROJECT PORTFOLIO

Child
Marriage:
A Crisis In
Malda
English Project
Name: Maryam Abdul Ajees
Class and Section: 11-A
Date: 09th February 2022
Submitted to: Mrs. Sherlyn Sandra Onslow
School: Madhava Kripa School

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 Certificate

This is to certify that _________________________of Grade

11-A has successfully completed her English Project file for the

academic year 2021-22, under the requirements of central

board of secondary education (CBSE).

This project is completely genuine and does not include plagiarism

of any kind. The reference taken in making of this project file

have been declared at the end of the Project.

Date: Project in charge

Signature of External Signature of

Examiner Principal

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 Acknowledgement

I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my

teacher Sherlyn Sandra Onslow and Smita bhattaripad ma’am as
well as our principal Jessy Andrews who gave me the golden
opportunity to do this wonderful project on the topic Child
Marriage, which also helped me in doing a lot of Research and I
came to know about so many new things I am really thankful to them.

Secondly, I would also like to thank my parents and friends who

helped me a lot in finalizing this project within the given time
frame.

A special thanks to Swasthi S Nayak who accompanied me

throughout my project.

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 Index

S.no Content Page

number
1. Theme 4

2. Action plan 5
3. Introduction 6

4. Child Marriage: 8-10

A Worldwide
crisis
5. Conclusion 11

6. Project 12
reflection
7. Bibliography 13

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 Theme

The theme of this project is Child

Marriage. I have taken up this
project to understand the problems
faced by girls who became a prey of
child marriage and girls who have
overcome this problem.
In this project I have focused my study to a district of West
Bengal, named Malda which was called the English Bazaar in the
British Rule. Those days, it was famous for trade routes and
mangoes. But nowadays it is infamous because of drug trafficking,
fake note printing and the most prominent problem is Child
Marriage.

My main objective in this project is to learn new words, learn the

usage of words and learn the correct pronunciations of the words
by watching a the documentary film shot by VISE Asia.

The project is wholly based on one big question

How can I raise my voice against child marriage and

what are the root causes of this major problem?

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 Action Plan
My aim is to study the problems
faced by teenage girls in Malda, a
small district of India under Child
marriage.

The issue is that the parents are

forcefully getting their girl child
married at a small age for various
reasons worldwide.

Currently the WHO, UNESCO and

other organizations are working in the depletion of this injustice
towards girls. This project is based on the problems in some parts
of India.

As a part of the project I have watched a documentary based on

this issue shot by VISE Asia: https://youtu.be/pttHSJCl4Ks

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 Introduction

Child marriage refers to any formal marriage or informal union between

a child under the age of 18 and an adult or
another child. Child marriage is often the
result of entrenched gender inequality,
making girls disproportionately affected by
the practice. Globally, the prevalence
of child marriage among boys is just one
sixth that among girls. Child marriage robs girls of their childhood and
threatens their lives and health. Girls who marry before 18 are more
likely to experience domestic violence and less likely to remain in
school. They have worse economic and health outcomes than their
unmarried peers, which are eventually passed down to their own
children, further straining a country’s capacity to provide quality
health and education services.

Because child marriage impacts a girl’s health, future and family, it

imposes substantial economic costs at the national level too, with major
implications for development and prosperity.

Even though there are many laws and actions with are undertaken for
the depletion of child marriage these are some of today’s tragic child
marriage statistics:

 About 40 million girls ages 15-19 are currently married or in

a union worldwide.
 Each year, some 12 million more girls will marry before
reaching age 18 – and of those, 4 million are under age 15.
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  By 2030, it’s estimated that 150 million girls will lose their
childhoods due to child marriage.

Child marriage is a global problem and is compounded by

poverty. Child marriage is a problem that cuts across countries,
cultures, religions and ethnicities. Child brides can be found in every
region in the world. Major factors that place a girl at risk of
marriage include poverty, especially in rural areas, as well as weak
laws and enforcement, the perception that marriage will provide
“protection,” customs or religious laws, and unequal gender norms.

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 Child Marriage: A Worldwide crisis

Child marriage is the toxic product of

poverty and gender inequality. Girls in
child marriages tend to be less
educated, and they are more likely to
live in rural areas. Gender inequality,
social norms, perceived low status of
girls, poverty, lack of education, safety concerns about girl children
and control over sexuality are considered to be reasons for prevalence
of child marriages. Girl children in rural areas are more affected than
their urban counterparts. Statistically speaking though, in India twenty
seven percent of girls are married below the age of 18.

Malda, a district of West Bengal was surveyed by VISE Asia and was
found out to be one of the leading districts of Child Marriage. The
member of the team travelled to Dalla, a small village in the outskirts
of Malda. These are the reasons for their parents to arrange their
marriages:

 Many impoverished parents believe that marriage will secure their

daughters’ future by ensuring that another family will be responsible
for their care. This is also true in humanitarian crises, when many
parents fear they will be unable to protect or care for their daughters.
Some mistakenly believe marriage will protect their daughters from
sexual violence, which is often exacerbated in times of crisis.

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 Some parents see their daughters as burdens or commodities. Dowries
complicate the issue: In places where the bride’s family pays a dowry
to the groom’s family, younger brides typically command smaller
dowries, creating an incentive for parents to marry their daughters off
early. In places where the groom’s family pays a bride price, parents in
difficult circumstances may marry off their daughters as a source
of income.

The documentary also talks about the laws put forward by the Indian
constitution against Child marriage. They are:
The Child Marriage Restrain Act of 1929:
This act was the first social reform issue which was taken up by the
organized women in India. They played a major role in the
development of argument and actively used the device of political
petition and in the process contributed in the field of politics.
Although this is a victory for the women's movement in India, the
act itself was a complete failure. In the two years and five months
it was an active bill, there were 473 prosecutions, of which only 167
were successful. The list goes on with 207 acquittals, with 98 cases
still pending during August 1932. Out of the 167 successful
prosecutions, only 17 or so did either all of or part of their sentence.
The majority of cases were in Punjab and the United Provinces.

The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006:

It came into force on 1 November 2007 in India. In October
2017, Supreme Court of India gave a landmark judgement
criminalising sex with a child bride, hence removing an exception in

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 India’s criminal jurisprudence which had until then viewed the
consummation of marriage with minor wife as legal.

Then comes the discussion onto the offences and punishment.

Offences and punishment under this Act:

1. Punishment for male adult: If an adult male who is above 18

years of age contracts child marriage, he shall be punishable
with rigorous imprisonment for 2 years or with fine which may
extend to one lakh rupees or both.
2. Punishment for solemnizing marriage: If a person performs,
conducts, directs or abets any child marriage, he shall be
punishable with rigorous imprisonment for 2 years or with fine
which may extend to one lakh rupees or both.
3. Punishment for promoting / permitting solemnization of
marriage: Any person having charge of the child whether
parent or guardian or any other person including member of
organization or association of persons who does any act to
promote the passing or permit child marriage or negligently
fails to prevent it from being solemnized, including attending
or participating such marriage, shall be punishable with
rigorous imprisonment for 2 years or with fine which may
extend to one lakh rupees or both.

Offence under this Act is cognizable and non-bail able.

The current minimum age of marriage is 21 and 18 for men and women,
respectively in India, approved by the amendment of the Child Marriage
Restraint Act, 1929 in 1978. The same is recommended by the Special
Marriage Act, 1954 and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.

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 Conclusion
Global child marriage rates are slowly falling. Still, progress has been
uneven, and child marriage is not
declining fast enough. Because of
population growth in regions where
child marriage is more prevalent,
the total number of child marriages
is projected to increase by 2030.
To change this, we must accelerate
our actions to end child marriage.

Existing laws against child marriage should be enforced, especially

when girls at risk of child marriage, or who are already married, seek
protection and justice. And where it is not yet the case, the legal age
of marriage should be raised to 18 without exceptions. But laws only
provide the framework for action against child marriage. Practices
people deem acceptable are unlikely to disappear through legislation
alone.

Addressing child marriage requires recognition of the factors that

enable it. While the roots of the practice vary across countries and
cultures, poverty, lack of educational opportunities and limited access
to health care perpetuate it. Some families marry off their daughters
to reduce their economic burden or earn income. Others may do so
because they believe it will secure their daughters’ futures or protect
them.

Together, these measures lead to healthier families, higher levels of

gender equality and, in turn, stronger societies and more vibrant
economies. No society can afford the lost opportunity, waste of talent,
or personal devastation that child marriage causes.
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 Project reflection

The project has helped me understand how girls around the globe
suffer from the huge crisis. This has made me realise how blessed I
am, when compared to girls in Malda. This project also helped me to
understand the importance of knowing the right of an individual,
especially for a girl or women.

Child marriage is not only prevalent in India but almost all around the
world. Even though people speak about rights for women, around the
corner one of ten women are being deprived of their rights.

As an educated girl or boy, it is our duty to create awareness amongst

ourselves and our community for better future of the upcoming
generations.

Let’s raise our voice against the wrongdoings and hold hands together
for a bright future.

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 Bibliography

1. https://youtu.be/pttHSJCl4K

2. https://www.savethechildren.org

3. https://www.unfpa.org

4. https://en.wikipedia.org

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