The SC ruling will go a long way in stopping child marriages

The Supreme Court must be congratulated for its landmark ruling that criminalizes men having non-consensual marital sex with girls as young as 15. This ruling is bound to deflate the pernicious argument that tradition is sacrosanct and must be upheld even when it heinously throttles the life and livelihoods of the voiceless and the most marginalized. The same was true when we battled Sati and the same is true now.

Unimaginably the subsequent governments have opposed this social trans-formative ruling with harrowing and hollow arguments like- child marriages were a reality in India and that “the institution of marriage must be protected. Otherwise, the children from such marriages will suffer.” The Centers position also exposed their devious position of allowing marital rape of minors in the garb of the ‘sanctity of marriage’. This is truly unacceptable from a democratically elected government which should aim at crusading against social ills that plague our society and not protect them.

This landmark ruling comes as a respite to several girls who were forced into child marriages and have thus faced countless forms of violence and strangulating oppression relentlessly throughout their lives. There is enough evidence to show that the mar- ital lives of children are surrounded by a noxious environment of humiliation, oppression and loneliness. The young child is forced to comprehend this as destiny and she resigns to feelings of dire anxiety and extreme hopelessness. How long would this nation have tolerated this physiological and psychological scarring of its young?

Even with all these obvious perils and in spite of being made illegal, the heinous practice of child marriage continues to flourish under the patronage of social bigotry and the nexus it enjoys with the political class- which was palpable in the government’s ambiguous stand. Instead of regretting to the fact that it had miserably failed in preventing child marriages the government stood in the court to slyly protect it.

This landmark ruling has adeptly exposed this unholy nexus and their evil intention of using tradition as a fig leaf to conceal a horrendous and oppressive practice, at the same time providing respite to millions and paving way for a modern India. The judgement’s like these that will strengthen the idea of India which continues to plummet down on the Human Development Index. The court has done a fantastic job and now we as citizens should resolve that this landmark judgement is implemented in every nook and corner of our country.

-By Deana Uppal

The SC ruling will go a long way in stopping child marriages

The Supreme Court must be congratulated for its landmark ruling that criminalizes men having non-consensual marital sex with girls as young as 15. This ruling is bound to deflate the pernicious argument that tradition is sacrosanct and must be upheld even when it heinously throttles the life and livelihoods of the voiceless and the most marginalized. The same was true when we battled Sati and the same is true now.

Unimaginably the subsequent governments have opposed this social trans-formative ruling with harrowing and hollow arguments like- child marriages were a reality in India and that “the institution of marriage must be protected. Otherwise, the children from such marriages will suffer.” The Centers position also exposed their devious position of allowing marital rape of minors in the garb of the ‘sanctity of marriage’. This is truly unacceptable from a democratically elected government which should aim at crusading against social ills that plague our society and not protect them.

This landmark ruling comes as a respite to several girls who were forced into child marriages and have thus faced countless forms of violence and strangulating oppression relentlessly throughout their lives. There is enough evidence to show that the mar- ital lives of children are surrounded by a noxious environment of humiliation, oppression and loneliness. The young child is forced to comprehend this as destiny and she resigns to feelings of dire anxiety and extreme hopelessness. How long would this nation have tolerated this physiological and psychological scarring of its young?

Even with all these obvious perils and in spite of being made illegal, the heinous practice of child marriage continues to flourish under the patronage of social bigotry and the nexus it enjoys with the political class- which was palpable in the government’s ambiguous stand. Instead of regretting to the fact that it had miserably failed in preventing child marriages the government stood in the court to slyly protect it.

This landmark ruling has adeptly exposed this unholy nexus and their evil intention of using tradition as a fig leaf to conceal a horrendous and oppressive practice, at the same time providing respite to millions and paving way for a modern India. The judgement’s like these that will strengthen the idea of India which continues to plummet down on the Human Development Index. The court has done a fantastic job and now we as citizens should resolve that this landmark judgement is implemented in every nook and corner of our country.

-By Deana Uppal