Kolkata, 14 September (H.S.) : West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had expressed concern over child marriage during a Ram Katha programme on September 11 and indicated that the state government would take stringent measures to curb the practice. He had specifically referred to the large number of cases involving marriages of minor girls and subsequent pregnancies, including among the Muslim community, and said the government would act firmly against violations of the law.

Following the Chief Minister's announcement, the state Health Department has initiated the process of preparing a special Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the treatment and monitoring of pregnant girls below the age of 18.

The scale of child marriage in West Bengal remains alarming. According to data from the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5), while 23.3 per cent of women aged 20-24 across India were married before reaching the legal age of 18 during 2019-21, the corresponding figure for West Bengal was 41.6 per cent. In other words, nearly one in every two women in the state was married before attaining the legal age of marriage.

West Bengal is consequently among the states with the highest prevalence of child marriage in the country. The figure is also significantly higher than the national average and remains a major social and public health concern.

The issue has been a subject of political debate in the state for years. Opposition parties have repeatedly questioned the effectiveness of measures taken to prevent child marriage. Critics have alleged that despite government schemes and awareness campaigns, an effective and sustained mechanism to prevent such marriages has not been established at the grassroots level.

NFHS-5 data show that Bihar recorded a child marriage prevalence of 40.8 per cent and Tripura 40.1 per cent among women aged 20-24. West Bengal's figure of 41.6 per cent therefore places it among the worst-performing states on this indicator.

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Rural Bengal Faces Greater Challenge

The situation is considerably worse in rural areas than in urban parts of West Bengal. Nearly 48 per cent of women in rural areas were married before the age of 18, compared with around 26 per cent in urban areas.

Economic status also has a strong association with the prevalence of child marriage. The proportion was as high as 56 per cent among women from the poorest households, while it stood at around 13 per cent among women from the wealthiest households.

Education emerges as another critical factor. Around 58 per cent of women with no education or less than primary-level education were married before the age of 18, compared with only 4 per cent among women who had attained higher education.

Higher Raw Figure Among Muslim Women, but Socio-economic Factors Matter

According to the available unadjusted data, 45.2 per cent of Muslim women and 40.3 per cent of Hindu women in West Bengal were married before the age of 18.

However, an NFHS-5-based analysis by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), after accounting for factors such as education, economic status and rural-urban residence, found that Muslim women were slightly less likely than Hindu women to experience child marriage. The difference was not statistically significant.

The findings indicate that child marriage cannot be viewed solely through a religious lens. Poverty, lack of education and rural residence are also important factors associated with the practice.

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Health Department Preparing Special SOP for Pregnant Minors

The health consequences of child marriage become particularly serious when a minor girl becomes pregnant. To address this challenge, the West Bengal Health Department is preparing a separate SOP for pregnant girls below 18 years of age.

A senior Health Department official told Hindusthan Samachar on condition of anonymity that a nine-member expert committee has been constituted for the purpose. The committee includes specialists in community medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology, along with Health Department officials. Its first meeting is scheduled for September 18.

The proposed SOP is expected to include provisions for referring a minor to an obstetrician and gynaecologist immediately after pregnancy is confirmed, regular antenatal check-ups, identification of maternal risks, management of anaemia and malnutrition, referral of high-risk cases to higher medical centres, safe delivery and postnatal monitoring of both the mother and child.

Health Minister Dr Shardwat Mukherjee has said that pregnancy below the age of 18 can expose girls to serious health risks. Timely medical supervision and specialist care are therefore essential in such cases.

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Signs of Tougher Administrative Action

Recent interventions have also indicated increased administrative focus on preventing child marriages. In Murshidabad, police and administration have intervened in cases involving proposed marriages of minor girls. In areas such as Farakka and Shamsherganj, attempts to conduct underage marriages were reportedly stopped and action was initiated against those involved.

The developments indicate a possible shift from awareness campaigns alone towards immediate intervention and legal action in cases of child marriage.

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From Child Marriage to Early Motherhood

One of the most serious consequences of child marriage is pregnancy during adolescence. Early pregnancy can increase the risk of anaemia, malnutrition and complications during pregnancy and childbirth. This makes the proposed Health Department SOP particularly significant.

The objective is to establish a uniform medical protocol covering the entire process from early identification of pregnant minors and antenatal care to safe delivery and postnatal monitoring.

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What does Expert say?

Social worker Kamalakar Gupta, who has worked in the fields of women's rights and child protection for more than two decades, said child marriage is not merely a social or legal issue but one that directly affects the health, education and future prospects of adolescent girls.

He said early pregnancy can increase the risk of anaemia, malnutrition and complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Early identification of such cases, regular antenatal care and timely referral to higher medical centres are therefore essential. At the same time, he stressed that preventing child marriage would require equal attention to education and the economic condition of families.

With West Bengal's child marriage rate significantly higher than the national average, the proposed SOP assumes importance beyond the treatment of pregnant minors. The larger challenge will be to ensure that the entire system, from identifying and preventing child marriages to addressing cases of adolescent pregnancy, is implemented effectively on the ground.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh