NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Friday said the “multi-dimensional assault of child marriage” was not only oppressive to heterosexual girls and boys but also to all genders and sexual minorities as it robbed them of vital autonomy in choosing their sexual orientation and choice of partner.
A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said the Constitution recognised the right of a person over all aspects of their sexuality but in a child marriage, a minor was boxed with expectations of compulsory heterosexuality under the orthodox patriarchal norms.
Writing the judgment, CJI Chandrachud said, “Patriarchy offends the most basic rights of people by creating a hierarchy-based order of subjugation and static power distribution in society. The frontal assault of patriarchal institutions is in, all at once, denying any deviance and valuing some over others. In the instance of child marriage, the right to sexuality of a person is systematically dismantled.” He said marrying in childhood objectified the child and imposed mature burdens on children who were not physically or mentally prepared to comprehend the significance of marriage.
A woman forced into marriage in childhood to protect her ‘chastity’ and ‘virginity’ was denied her right to sexuality, bodily autonomy and the freedom to make choices for herself, he said.
He further said, “Sexuality is not only the orientation a person may have in matters of romance and intimacy but also the ability to navigate the desires of a person regardless of their choice of partner or the option not to have a partner. Men and women alike are victimised by compulsory heterosexuality. In child marriage, their limited agency within heteropatriarchy is also taken away in infancy.”
The CJI said child marriage led to irreversible physical and psychological damage in girls and violated their Article 21 right that encompassed their choice in matters of selection of partner, time of marriage, reproductive freedom and sexuality.
Early marriage also arrested educational and intellectual progress of a girl, violating her fundamental right under the Right to Education Act, he said, adding that it had equally detrimental impact on boys, who were forced to take up more responsibilities and assume the role of provider. “Both sexes are adversely affected by forced and early marriage,” he said.