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Child marriage is one of the major problem in our Indian society, which affecting the mental and physical health of the boy or girl child. In spite of various anti-child marriage laws, the problem is increasing day by day in Haryana. We can see the consequence of Child marriage on girl and boy child who involved in, as well as on the wider society. UNICEF outlined the Child marriage as “a violation of child rights. Whether it happens to a boy or a girl, child marriage challenges the right to health, education, protection and development” (UNICEF, 2012). Child marriage continues to flourish in rural areas of India. According to UNCIEF report, improving Children’s Lives, Transforming the Future, 25 years of child rights in South Asia, India has the second-highest number of child marriages. . According to the 2001 census there are 1.5 million girls in India that are under the age of 15 years and already married. The 2001 census also estimated the average age of marriage has risen to 18.3 for females. The male average is 22 years (Child line India). Rates of child marriage are higher in the North-West and lower in the South-East of the country. The states with the highest rates of child marriage (50:00% and above) are Bihar, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. But states with low prevalence may also have high rates of child marriage. Situation of Child Marriage in Haryana As per census 2011, the Total population of Haryana is 25,351,462 of which male and female are 13,494,734 and 11,856,728 and according to census 2001, total population of Haryana was 21,144,564 out of which males were 11,363,953 and females were 9,780,611. The Data shows the deviating patterns of sex ratio of Haryana from 2001 to 2011. Due to low sex ratio, in Haryana many peoples purchase the brides from poorest states like Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Madhaya Pradesh. These paid Brides are mostly under the age of 18 years. The cases of Child marriage in Haryana increasing day by day due to lack of awareness about child marriage prohibition laws, lack of education, poor economic conditions of the family, unemployment, Dowry system of the society, social insecurity, role of local khap panchayat and harmful social norms.

Panchal et al (2020) in his study, it was explored that the child marriage incidents still prevails in the Haryana. The monetary benefits given by the Government to motivate the parents not to do child marriage of their children, has shown its impact on controlling the Child Marriage. The Protection Officer has important role in awareness, prevention and controlling of child marriage incidents in Haryana.  The effective implementation of the child marriage prohibition related Act will prove instrumental in mitigating this social problem.

Singh et al (2016), has studied about the factors responsible for child marriage in India. Author explored that various socio-cultural, political and economic factors are responsible for child marriage in India. These factors includes, illiteracy, lack of proper awareness, lack of proper employment, gender issues and lack of interest of political system etc.On the basis of the above review of literature, it is found that child marriage still prevails in India but the awareness level and implementation of the law in not up to the mark. Through, researcher wants to study the level of awareness and implementation of the legislation regarding child marriage prohibition in Sonepat District. 

Research Methodology 

Researcher has applied exploratory-cum-diagnostic research design. The 200 respondents are selected through simple random sampling from 5 villages of the Sonepat District of Haryana. The respondents include parents, school/college going youth, key persons, PRI members and SHGs members and other community people. Primary data was collected through interview schedule with a set of close ended and open ended questions. The secondary data is also applied as per the requirements, which was taken from various library, books, magazines and online sources.

The above table shows the facts about socio-economic profile of the respondents. About the Sex wise Distribution of Respondents, 47 percent are male and 53 percent are female. About the Age wise Distribution of Respondents, 12.5  percent are upto 20 years, 31 percent are 20 to 40, 40.5 percent are 40 to 60 and 16 percent are above 60. About the category wise distribution of the respondents, 33.5 percent are belonging to general category, 34.5 percent are belonging to backward category, and 22 percent belong to the Scheduled Cast. About the Education Level wise Distribution of Respondents, 15 .5 percent are illiterate, 31 percent are Up to Primary Schooling, 24.5 percent are Up to Secondary Schooling, and 15.5 percent are Up to Senior Secondary Schooling, 13.5 percent Graduation and above. About the Marital Status wise Distribution of the Respondents, 70 percent are married,19 percent are unmarried, 4.5 percent are widow, 3 percent are widower, 1.5 percent are separate, and 2 percent are divorcee. About the Occupation Wise Distribution of the Respondents, 38 percent are Agriculture, 14.5 percent are Daily Wagers, 3.5 percent are Self- Employment, 9.5  percent are service, 32.5 percent are unemployed, 2 percent respondents engaged in any other work.

The above table shows the Awareness about the legislation for Child Marriage prohibition of the respondents. About the Awareness of Child Marriage 54 percent respondents replied yes and 36 respondents replied no and 10 percent respondents not replied. About the Awareness about the legislation for Child Marriage  prohibition, 45 percent respondents replied yes, 39 percent respondents replied no, 16 percent respondents replied can’t say. About the minimum age of the Girl and boy for marriage in your Community/area, 42 percent respondents answered about the age group of Girls-18-Boy-21, 12 percent respondents answered about the age group of Girls-16-Boy-18, 10 percent respondents replied any other, 36 percent respondents can’t say anything. About to do the marriage of their children according to the age 92 percent respondents said yes, 8 percent respondents replied can’t say. About the Effects of Child Marriage  on Girl child 72 percent respondents told Physical effect, 57 percent respondents told Psychological effect, 37 percent respondents told Educational effect, 11 percent told Social effect and 16 percent respondents told any other. About the Effects of Child Marriage on Boy child, 22 percent respondents told Physical effect, 34 percent respondents told Psychological effect, 16 percent respondents told Educational effect, 9 percent respondents told Social and 34 percent respondents told any other. Aware about Child Marriage  related punishment, 23 percent respondents replied yes, 60 percent respondents replied no and 17 percent respondents replied can’t say. Aware about Govt. Departments/other institutions for child marriage prohibition, 18 percent respondents replied yes, 60 percent respondents replied no and 22 percent respondents replied can’t say. About the Child Marriage should be prohibited or not, 83 percent respondents replied yes 3 percent respondents replied no and 4 percent respondents replied can’t say. The legislation to stop child marriage is effectively implemented or not, 7 percent respondents replied yes 81 percent respondents replied no and 12 percent respondents replied can’t say. About the suggestions for society/ people to stop child marriage, 72 percent respondents told Awareness generation programmes, 81 percent respondents told Educational facilities, 92 percent respondents told Proper implementation of laws, 16 percent respondents told Health education, 11 percent respondents told any other. About the suggestion about effective implementation of legislation related to child marriage  prohibition, 85 percent respondents told Strong monitoring of govt/Authority, 35 percent respondents told Awareness about legislation, 22 percent respondents told Participation of public/local self-governess, 06 percent respondents told Role of education institution, 05 percent respondents told Any other.

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