A Good Lesson Is Thought-provoking But Propagating Child Marriage In Textbooks?

Child marriage has been a menace that has existed in the society for a long time. Various social reformers have raised their voice against it. And, as a society, we have made considerable progress in putting an end to it. But the fact remains that this menace is still destroying the lives of many children, especially girls, who are forced into lifelong subordinate relationships where they lose agency over their own lives.

So, how do we fight this menace? The best way forward is to sensitise people about it. Unless and until we join our hands, we won’t be able to defeat it. This is where a class 11, English Core textbook lets us down. It contains a chapter called Ranga’s Marriage, in which the narrator, playing matchmaker, believes Ranga (an adult), and Ratna, "a pretty girl of eleven,’’ would make a perfect match. By the end of the story, the pair is happily married with two kids.

Child Marriage in Textbook

The abhorrent chapter has been a part of class eleven’s syllabus for a good while. Consequentially young, impressionable minds could read a story that paints the false image of victims of child marriage being happy and having a say over their lives. How could such a story possibly reach school textbooks?

Should a story that normalises child marriage part of the curriculum? What is especially angering is that the mention of Ratna’s age was a completely inconsequential part of the story. Moreover, when 30% of the chapters were to be excluded from the syllabus during the pandemic, Ranga’s marriage still managed to make the cut. It remained part of the final syllabus.

A possible justification is that the marriage in the story took place several years ago.

Legally, the minimum age of consent for girls has been 12 years since 1891. The minimum age for marriage was announced as 16 years in 1929. What took place in the story has been illegal for a very long time.

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A good lesson is thought-provoking; we question ourselves and our beliefs, debating what is right or wrong. Something like morality regarding child marriage however is NOT up for debate. No ifs and buts. Child marriage is an inexcusable crime.

The entire situation reveals fault lines in the education system. Where else can one find misogyny written between the lines? The making of these textbooks involves a wide range of procedures. Every single line has to be approved by dozens of people before it can come into the hands of students and teachers.

This means that a good number of people sitting in positions of influence saw no problem in this text. The knowledge is unsettling.

When a student reads this chapter in their school textbook, the question will inevitably enter their minds: do people even care? Are they not bothered by any of the crimes against women that are so commonplace? Alternatively, who will be held responsible when a teenager reading this chapter will have a cascade of thoughts, concluding that child marriage is perfectly okay?

India is a country that is home to more than a third of the world’s child brides. 1.5 million girls under the age of 18 become child brides every year according to the UNICEF. How can we possibly fix our child marriage problem when this type of content is fed to young minds?

Little things like this chapter aid in keeping the practice alive. Removing such things will be a step in the favourable direction. Child marriage is a form of gender-based violence and any mention of it that doesn’t directly condemn the act cannot be a part of school textbooks. Any mention of Ratna’s age (or possibly the entire chapter) MUST be removed from the syllabus.

Students should be made socially and politically aware, the correct moral values should be inculcated; values that make them a responsible citizen who respects women and their rights.

Aisha Khan is a grade 12 student. She is determined in playing her part for changing the world for the better. The views expressed are the author's own.