Starting a fresh campaign against dowry and child marriage, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has warned that Bihar government servants who demand dowry or indulge in child marriages will lose their jobs with immediate effect.
Kumar had earlier appealed to people to boycott such marriages which indulge in unlawful practices such as dowry and child marriage. The announcement is being cited as the second most significant step by the state government, which, in October 2016 notified the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 and banned sale and consumption of liquor in the state.
“Though the selected candidates in Bihar government have to take an oath that they would not demand dowry, the rule was not being applied stringently.
The Nitish government has now made it a priority and decided that government employees against whom any such complaint is received, will lose their jobs,” Navbharat Times reported.
Under the scheme, directives will be sent to various departments and district administrations by Bihar Women Development Corporation, the nodal agency which will ensure strict implementation of the scheme at various levels.
According to the report, other allied rules and regulations would be created to ensure that dowry and child marriage are discouraged within the government establishment. Stringent action would also be taken against religious leaders who facilitate such practices in the society.
Nitish Kumar had on October 2 appealed to people to boycott marriages involving the give or take of dowries. In order to create awareness about the campaign, the Bihar Chief Minister has appealed for creating a human chain on January 21.
Last week, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar started a statewide campaign against two social problems — dowry and child marriage. When laws already exist to deal with both of these, the government has cited Bihar’s social indicators to justify the drive while the Opposition has dismissed it as an attempt by Nitish to stay afloat in politics.
Under the Child Marriage Prevention Act, 2006, an offender can be punished with a jail term up to two years or a Rs 1 lakh fine, or both. Under IPC provisions, giving and taking dowry is a punishable offence with a jail term up to seven years.
Nitish has stressed the need for effective social reforms and empowerment of women. At a function in Patna to launch the twin campaigns, he referred to an earlier drive, recalling how some people had mocked the prohibition his government had enforced in April 2016.
“One can now see the impact of prohibition — how there is peace in society and happiness at homes,” Nitish said. “If we fight against dowry and child marriage, it will lead to social empowerment of women. The prevalence of child marriage in Bihar in 39.1.” Prevalence is the percentage of women aged 20-24 who are married before age 18.
The government has sent groups of artistes, social workers and self-help groups to various districts to launch a sustained awareness campaign in society and at schools. A ceremony was held in which government officials and others took a pledge to work towards the eradication of these two social problems.
“We want the chief minister to bring a law to make mukhiyas and ward councillors responsible for any child marriage in his area. We hope to erase these social blots in two years,” Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi said at the launch function.
Over six lakh members of self-help groups, aanganwadi centre members, UNICEF teams and artistes will spread awareness through pamphlets, seminars, public interactions and nukkad natak. The awareness campaign has been under way since October 2.
“There are four broad social indicators that have prompted the drive against dowry and child marriage,” said Anand Madhab of Gender Resource Centre under the state government’s department of social welfare. “As per the National Health Family Survey 2015-16, 48% of Bihar’s population are women; 55% of the women are either pregnant or mothers before age 19; 49.6% of them are literate; 43.2% suffer from domestic violence as against the national average of 28.8%.”
As per NCRB data, 1,154 dowry deaths were registered in Bihar in 2015, second only to Uttar Pradesh. Bihar is in 11th position in terms of crime against women among Indian states and Union territories. Altogether 1,867 cases have been so far registered under the Dowry Prevention Act. Bihar Police’s website, however, has not posted records of child marriage and dowry cases. A senior police officer said the number of dowry cases has been more or less static over a decade while child marriages often go unreported.
