Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs aim to reduce poverty by making welfare programs conditional upon the receivers’ actions. The government (or a charity) only transfers the money to persons who meet certain criteria. These criteria may include enrolling children into public schools, getting regular check-ups at the doctor’s office, receiving vaccinations, or the like. TISS, Hyderabad studied the impact of the schemes Kalyana Lakshmi and Shadi Mubarak in Telangana and Chandranna Pelli Kanuka in Andhra Pradesh recently.

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Key Findings of the study:

• The CCT schemes became popular as cash is transferred to the accounts of beneficiaries only when the girl is married after attaining the legally valid age of 18 years.
• The features of the schemes in the two States encompass added benefits of legal protection of the marriage as well as ensuring education of girls.
• However, the widely prevalent perception is that the scheme is for extending financial assistance to poor families to meet marriage expenditure rather than driving the message that child marriage should be viewed as a social problem.

A sample of working of Conditional Cash Transfer:

 Significance of CCT:

• CCT schemes addresses  issues more towards  the  individual  rather than  the  household, which  is  the  focus  of  the government.
• Certain national schemes, is, related to maternity benefits and the survival and education of the girl child which addresses the problem of child marriage directly or indirectly. E.g.: Dhanalakshmi, Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent girls (SABLA) etc.
• CCTs have benefits of legal protection of the marriage as well as ensuring education of girls.
• The CCT schemes became popular as cash is transferred to the accounts of beneficiaries only when the girl is married after attaining the legally valid age of 18 years.
• CCT Schemes confer more than just monetary support; it should be a means of financial inclusion and a tool of empowerment for adolescent girls. The schemes benefits are therefore paid directly to bank accounts in the girls names, leaving the decision of utilization of the money in their hands.
• CCT scheme also works to enhance the social power and self-esteem of girls through a targeted behaviour change communication strategy.

Challenges faced by CCT:

• However, the financial incentive alone cannot help in curbing the child marriage and bringing in gender equality.
• This is because the reasons for child marriage, a social problem, range from usual factors of poverty, illiteracy and age-old cultural norms to apprehensions about early sexual activity ( of adolescent girl in particular), elopement and marriage ‘outside the caste’. For some, early marriage is the resolution of the ‘problem of modernity and mobility’ of young women.
• The widely prevalent perception is that the CCT scheme is for extending financial assistance to poor families to meet marriage expenditure rather than driving the message that child marriage should be viewed as a social problem
• The CCT also has negative fallout to it such as reinforcing dowry and marriage expenses being borne by the bride’s family.
• If early marriage of girls is considered a gender disempowering phenomenon, then provision of financial assistance by the State seems to be primarily addressing poverty alleviation

Other measures to curb child marriage:

• Increasing access to accessible, high quality and safe schooling is a critical strategy in ending child marriage and ensuring married girls have the opportunity to complete their education.
• Education builds knowledge, opens new opportunities and can help to shift norms around the value of girls in the community. The very act of girls attending school can reinforce to the community that girls of school-going age are still children.
• Supporting young people to be agents of change can be an effective and empowering process in and of itself. Many organisations work with young people so they can advocate for change as well as helping to inform the design of programmes that directly benefit their peers.
• Many families and communities see child marriage as a deeply rooted practice which has been part of their culture for generations. For change to happen, the values and norms which support the practice of child marriage need to shift.
• Working with families and the wider community to raise awareness of the harmful consequences of child marriage can change attitudes and reduce the acceptance among those who make the decision to marry girls as children.
• Community level change underpins all of efforts in preventing child marriage and mitigating the harmful effects for married girls. Without change at this level, the day-to-day reality for girls all over the world will remain the same.
• A strong legal and policy system can provide an important backdrop for improvements in services, changes in social norms and girls’ empowerment.

Conclusion:

The CCTs to curb child marriage need to emphasise legal registration of marriage and not simply rely on certificates by religious community leaders. Tighter administrative control to curb corruption and elimination of political approval at any stage is needed to discourage culture of political patronage. The schemes should be seen as part of initiatives to combat child marriage and thus linked to programmes meant for empowerment of girls through education and livelihood opportunities. This would motivate families to think of education and employment of their daughters, and not marriage, as priority.