CHILD MARRIAGE

 27% of girls in India are married before their 18th birthday and 7% are married before the age of 15.

According to UNICEF, India has the highest absolute number of child brides in the world – 15,509,000.

Incidents of underage marriage have fallen so steeply in Bihar, UP, and Rajasthan that West Bengal and Tripura have now emerged as the states worst afflicted with this social scourge.

A toxic cocktail of the raging pandemic, economic crisis, and closed schools for months is exacerbating social ills like early marriages.

 

In India, child marriage is also driven by:

• Gender inequality: Child marriage is driven by gender inequality and the belief that girls are somehow inferior to boys. 
• Poverty: Child marriage is more common among poorer households, with many families marrying off their daughters to reduce their perceived economic burden. Girls are often married off at a younger age because less dowry is expected for younger brides.
• Betrothal: Some girls are promised in marriage before they are born in order to “secure” their future. Once they reach puberty, guana or “send-off” ceremonies take place and they are sent to their husband’s home to commence married life.
• Level of education: Many families consider girls to be paraya dhan – someone else’s wealth. This means that a girl’s productive capacities benefit her marital family, and educating daughters is therefore seen as less of a priority than educating sons, who are responsible for taking care of biological parents in old age.
• Household labor: Girls are often married off at puberty when they are deemed most ‘productive’ and can take care of children and conduct housework. The labor of young brides is central to some rural economies. The practice of atta satta sees two extended families exchange girls through marriage so neither family is worse off in terms of household labor.
• Traditional customs: Customary laws based on religion are a major barrier in ending child marriage in India. Social pressure to marry at puberty can be enormous within certain castes.
• Gender norms: There is generally a lower value attached to daughters, and girls are expected to be adaptable, docile, hardworking, and talented wives. Child marriages are sometimes used to control female sexuality, sanctify sex and ensure reproduction.
• Violence against girls: Some girls are married off due to fear of kharab mahaul – the corrupted external environment – and reports of the rape of women in public spaces. However, a 2014 study found that child brides in India are at greater risk of sexual and physical violence within their marital home.

#Young girls not bride

#Say NO to Child Marriage