Jaipur: At least 366 children between 10 and 14 years in Rajasthan are ‘divorcees’, according to a Census report on marital status. The report also points out that there are 3,506 ‘widowed’ and 2,855 ‘separated’ children within the same age group.
The door-to-door survey identified the problems of separation, divorce and young widows in the state. It states that there are nearly 2.5 lakh and 13.62 lakh married persons in the age group of 10-14 and 15-19, respectively. As per the data, out of the 3.29 crore married persons across all age groups, around 4.95% of them are minors.
“Divorce and separation are a direct fallout of atrocities by the family, demands of dowry , birth of a baby-girl, incompatibility and even extra-marital affairs. If the census enumerator were given the questions to find out instances of polygamy among minors, the results would have been shocking,” said Rajiv Gupta, former head of sociology department, Rajasthan University.
The retired professor recalled his interviews with child bridesgrooms done for a research years ago. He said, “The life of a child who is divorced or widowed is worse than hell as she has to live with the stigma for years or forever.”
A testimony to the prevalence of child marriage in India, the report sheds light on the failure of government schemes. Rajasthan sees mass child marriages on Akha Teej, and the government had started campaigns to discourage the practice, reported The Times of India.
However, sociologists believe that the government needs a holistic campaign as child marriages are not restricted to Akha Teej.