Gujarat teen bride suicide puts spotlight back on rampant child marriages

The death of a 17-year-old girl by suicide in Gujarat's Kheda district last year has once again put the spotlight on the rampant practice of child marriage in the state.

The teenager, who was reportedly forced to drop out of school in early 2024 while studying in Class X, was married off soon after, highlighting a troubling pattern that continues despite existing legal safeguards. Kheda police last week arrested four people, including her parents and in-laws, in connection with the case.

Per the FIR, the girl, a resident of Machiyel village, had urged her parents and, subsequently, her in-laws, to let her continue with her studies. However, she was forced to marry Anand Chunara, who was just 17 at the time of the wedding.

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“The victim was subjected to domestic violence and mental torture by her in-laws, who constantly pressured her parents for more dowry,” reads the FIR.

Skewed gender ratio

Despite stringent laws in place, the menace of child marriage is still rampant in Gujarat. One of the major reasons for the phenomenon is communities with skewed gender ratios seeking underage girls as child brides.

Between May 2023 and December 2024, the Women and Child Welfare Department prevented the marriage of more than 200 girls from multiple mass wedding ceremonies across rural Gujarat.

In February 2024, Gujarat police busted a gang and arrested seven men and three women, all belonging to the Patidar (Patel) community, for running a full-fledged ‘child bride business’. Minor girls were being trafficked and sold as brides across Gujarat and Rajasthan. More than 1,600 minor girls were rescued by the Gujarat police between 2023 and 2024 in several such operations.

Deep-rooted problem

“The issue is that the practice of child marriage isn’t just a financial arrangement between families. It is a deep-rooted cultural practice, especially amongst the dominant caste," Nita Maldhari, an activist who works with marginalised women and a former member of Mahila Congress, told The Federal.

"While it is the marginalised communities who are forced to sell their girls, it is the dominant castes who encourage the practice and are the customers. Most child brides are sold to Patidar communities that has one of the most skewed gender ratios in Gujarat. Hence, the political leaders prefer to look away as well,” she added.

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A reluctance to report child marriages is an issue, too. “We take steps and intervene whenever we have information about the marriage of underage children," Amit Yadav, the District Collector of Kheda, told The Federal. "But in most cases, nobody comes forward to raise a complaint.

"Usually, it is a monetary transaction between the two families that is mediated by community or caste elders. Hence, we also conduct awareness campaigns against child marriage. While the numbers have gone down in urban areas, it is going to take more time for a change in rural belts,” he added.

“In the recent case, the police has arrested the groom, the parents of the groom and the parents of the bride. The accused have been booked under the POCSO Act apart from other criminal charges including abetment to suicide and domestic violence and the Prevention of Child Marriage Act ,” Yadav further said.

Battle against poverty

Meera (name changed) is one of the girls who was rescued by Gujarat police with the help of Prayas, a child rights NGO, in February 2024. The teenager, who belongs to the Madari community, was 12 years old when she was sold by her parents

“We lived in a mud house with a roof made of plastic bags. My parents switched between rag picking at Pirana (an 80-foot garbage mound on the outskirts of Ahmedabad) and having street shows where my siblings and I would display our acrobatic skills on a rope tied between poles,” Meera, who now stays in a government-run women’s shelter in Ahmedabad, told The Federal.

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“One day, a couple came to our home and said they wanted to adopt me. They told my parents that I would have a better life and get to study. They offered Rs 2,000 to my parents in exchange and my parents readily agreed,” recalled Meera, the eldest of four sisters.

“After being sold by her parents, Meera was kept in captivity for weeks in Surat before she was once again sold to be a bride for a 28-year-old man in Sabarkantha," Aparna Modi, the caretaker of the Nari Sanrakshan Kendra in Ahmedabad, told The Federal.

"She became pregnant but lost the child due to health issues. The family that bought her did not want to spend on her treatment. She was handed back to the members of the racket and would have been sold again. However, Gujarat police rescued her and she has been with us since then."

Marriage no panacea

Rinki (name changed) is another child bride from the Devipoojak community in Aravalli district of Gujarat. Six years ago, she was married to a man from the Patel community in Patan and now she has two sons.

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“It is common for girls to get married very young in lieu of money in my village. So I knew there was no point in saying no to marriage when my husband’s family offered Rs 3,000 to my father. Besides, my parents were daily wage earners and they didn’t earn enough to feed us seven siblings,” Rinki, who was forced to drop out of school to marry a 32-year-old man, told The Federal.

Rinki was assured of a good life after marriage and was told that her husband’s family had a pucca makan (concrete house) and agrarian land. However, things changed soon after, when she came to know that the two-room house shared by her husband and his three brothers was mortgaged.

Deprived of benefits

“Things have been difficult since marriage. My husband’s family has been going through an economic crisis for years and hasn’t had a good crop yield. Four years back, when I got pregnant, my husband left for Surat to work as a diamond cutter but even that has not been very helpful. He is barely able to send money after meeting his expenses,” said Rinki, now 19 years old.

She approached a local Anganwadi to register for the Mukhyamantri Matrushakti Yojana (MMY), a state scheme for expecting mothers launched in 2022, as her husband could not send her enough money while she was pregnant. However, she was turned away on account of being underage.

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The MMY scheme, rolled out on a budget of Rs 800 crore, is meant for pregnant women and new mothers. They each get 2 kg of chickpeas, 1 kg of tur dal and 1 kg of edible oil free of cost every month across Anganwadi centres in Gujarat.

“We cannot register her on the online database. It will get us all in trouble,” an Anganwadi worker, pleading anonymity, told The Federal.

Skirting rules

Rinki, like all child brides of Gujarat, cannot be registered under the MMY scheme. “At times I give her some dal or rice that I can spare. I wish I could help her more. But if I register her, it will be revealed that she got pregnant and married before she turned 18. It might create a huge problem for her and her family,” the Anganwadi worker added.

The Purna Scheme stands a better chance of helping underage pregnant girls. “We launched the Purna Scheme in 2022 for adolescent girls of Gujarat. The scheme is meant to tackle malnutrition, anaemia and early marriage among adolescent girls of Gujarat," Rakesh Kumar, the Secretary of Women and Child Welfare Department told The Federal.

"We have taken initiatives to educate adolescent girls about their nutrition, health and their legal rights through various vocational training and social media in the past two years. We hope to gradually eradicate the practice of underage marriage in the state,” he added.

Early age pregnancy

The National Family Health Survey (NHFS) Report - VI, released in 2024, revealed that more than 25 per cent of the girls married in Gujarat are below the age of 18. Among whom, 5.2 per cent of the girls get pregnant in the age group of 13-16.

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“Child marriages are rampant in Madari, Sapera, Devipujaks, Chunaras, Dataniya, Rathvas communities (considered under SC) and tribals. The primary reason for this is poverty and lack of education. People of these communities work as daily wage labourers, sell seasonal vegetables or migrate for any work they can get. Most of these girls are sold by their parents for anything between Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,000 depending upon the economic condition of the family,” said Indrajit Chauhan, who heads Prayas.

“However, the practice is also deep-rooted in the culture of many communities. In such cases, it is difficult to intervene or get a complaint registered as the village panchayats often end up supporting such practices,” he added.

(Suicides can be prevented. For help please call Suicide Prevention Helplines: Neha Suicide Prevention Centre – 044-24640050; Aasara helpline for suicide prevention, emotional support & trauma help — +91-9820466726; Kiran, Mental health rehabilitation — 1800-599-0019, Disha 0471- 2552056, Maithri 0484 2540530, and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.)