Forced child marriage in India (Modern Slavery) Free Essay Example, 1750 words

In other states such as Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Chandigah, Pondicherry, Daman and Diu, as well as Punjab and Delhi, nearly a tenth of the girls are married when they are barely 18 years of age. The sociological, anthropological, as well as psychological perspectives are consistent in their theoretical foundations of child marriage, that the practice arose as way of sealing bonds and establishing lasting alliances between families, groups or clans, to preserve or destroy power between them (Rubio 8). Child marriages have been a common occurrence in many societies across the world since the medieval era, as a strategy of strengthening unions between families or other parties. Child marriage in India traces its history in the medieval ages, under the turbulent political reign of Delhi Sultans’ monarchy; the Delhi Sultans caused widespread socio-cultural unrest by forcing people to convert to their religion, and the Hindu women were the worst affected group. This was the darkest era in the history of the Hindu woman since not only was her status lowered, but barbaric practices such as child marriage were also introduced. The Delhi Sultans decried the birth of a baby gir l as an ill omen and propagated the stereotype of young unmarried girls as a potential cause of disaster. We will write a custom essay sample on Forced child marriage in India (Modern Slavery) or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now In that case, child marriage evolved as a pervasive cultural practice that was justifiable on numerous grounds, thus, many marriages in India were performed even before the girl outgrew her infancy. Besides that, the Indian feudalistic society’s emphasis on honour, rivalry, and animosity led to the creation of military alliances between families and kingdoms to preserve or destroy power between them, and young members of their households were married off as guarantee that the bonds would be upheld. Similarly, the Indian society’s caste system is largely responsible for the emergence of child marriages in the country since it was practised as a way of preventing young people from getting tempted to marry outside their castes. Moreover, the child marriage tradition in India also had its social justifications as the Indians practised it as a way of protecting their girls against rapes as well as abductions by foreign rulers. Apart from that, the practice was also a way of strengthening family relations and bonds while fulfilling the old people’s desire to hold their grandchildren before their death. India has made some remarkable progress towards abolishing ch ild marriage, especially through the establishment of a national legal framework that is spelt through a number of acts of legislation, policy frameworks, strategy and plans, as well as programmes and schemes aimed at eliminating child marriage (Malika, Basu & Dhivya, David 7-9).