‘No change in attitude toward girls’

HYDERABAD: Have the five-year old flagship projects of the ruling government -- Shadi Mubarak and Kalyana Lakshmi schemes, envisioned to eliminate child marriage -- affected the perception of child marriage? For the Telangana leg of the study, the TISS researchers explored Gadwal district as part of erstwhile Mahbubnagar, which is known for highest incidents of child marriage.

The research found, of the 3,600 women benefiting from the Kalyana Lakshmi scheme between 2014-19, a majority were in the aged 20-22 with nearly 2,000 claiming they got the benefit long after they turned 18. While the maximum number of women who got married under Shaadi Mubarak scheme were in the 20-23 age group, which shows that families have started waiting for a couple of years more than the legal age of marriage, says the study.

However, after the researchers interacted with the various stakeholders in district including beneficiaries, religious leaders, young girls, district officials and NGOs, the study noted, “Though the scheme has acted as a powerful economic incentive to reduce child marriage, there does not seem to be any attitudinal change towards the girl child.”

This is because the incentive given was perceived as a poverty-alleviation scheme and relief from giving dowry to the boy’s family, finds the study.

This said, the money received does not always assure welfare of the girl child and is also used for paying off debts, or paying dowry. The study also notes that some families simply marry of their girls without any financial compulsion as soon as they attain puberty purely out of tradition.

This increases the need to target the policy in a way that ensures that even if monetary benefit is not the only takeaway to postpone the marriage of girls.