In Jaipur, most of the child marriages take place in Dadabari area, followed by Vidyadhar Nagar and Chandpol.
In the Pink City, childhood is not in the pink of the health. As compared to the other leading districts of the desert state, Jaipur stands tallest in terms of married minors.
Unfortunately, the highest number of child marriages occurred in Jaipur and what is more alarming is the fact that these marriages were solemnized with the consent of the parents. Worst is that there is hardly any fear of the law among such parents.
There seems to be a definite lack of awareness in the city especially in areas situated on the outskirts and those bound by the Muslim community. As per a UNICEF official, the mean age of a girl getting married in Rajasthan is 17.7 years.
Dada Bari area of Jaipur is not the only one where child marriages take place in large numbers but there are other areas too brimming with such cases including Vidyadhar Nagar and Chandpol to name a few.
An eminent sociologist from the city calls it bane for the society. “Depriving a child of his/her childhood is the biggest sin a human can commit. Marrying off a child, who doesn’t even know about the complexities of life, is one big loss not only for the society but for the whole nation,”
say experts.
While the state capital sets unworthy example in this aspect, Barmer and Ganganagar have set an example with lowest number of child marriages.
According to the latest district-level household and facility survey, Jaipur district is at fifth level with around 67 per cent in terms of child marriage.
Bundi district is the highest with 84.3 per cent in terms of child marriages against the probability proportion to the size sampling design. Chittorgarh comes second with 73.6 per cent followed by Tonk at 73.9 and Bhilwara at 73.2 per cent as per the survey.
While Barmer, Sikar and Ganganagar are the lowest on child marriage chart with 25.7, 29.1 and 16 per cent respectively, what makes parents marry their children at the young age is the social-economic insecurity, said social activist Lad Kumari Jain.
Infants die early
Infants born to mothers under the age of 18 are 60 per cent more likely to die in their first year than those to mothers over the age of 19 years.
Poor health
Marrying your child at an early age surely disrupts the development both, mentally and physically. It leads to incomplete education and when a woman gives early birth it affects not just her health but of also the newborn child. This also increases the risk to life of the mother at the time of giving birth. A girl’s body is not ready to conceive before 18 years of age.
High mortality rate
Girls who marry earlier in life are less likely to be informed about reproductive issues and because of this, pregnancy-related deaths are known to be the leading cause of mortality among married girls between 15 and 19 years of age. Girls younger than 15 years of age are five times more likely to die during childbirth. That is why doctors advise against child marriage.
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