Child marriage affects both boys and girls, but it affects girls disproportionately.
UNICEF
In India, the child marriage of girls is an ingrained social norm and provides flagrant proof of inequality and discrimination. India is usually at the bottom of international rankings regarding gender indicators. The introduction of the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which seeks to increase the legal marriage age of women from 18 to 21, is celebrated as a stepping stone towards gender equality and women’s empowerment. The Bill is said to be a milestone in addressing issues accompanied by the underage marriage of women, viz., malnutrition, maternal mortality, infant mortality, and lack of agency in family planning. However, we must assess the capacity of this step through the data-centric evidence at hand.
According to the National Family Health Survey-5, women in the age group 20-24, who got married before attaining the age of 18 years, accounted for 14.7% in urban and 27% in rural areas. Women aged 15-19 years who were already married/pregnant at the time of the survey constituted 3.8% in urban and 7.9% in rural areas. Undoubtedly, the issue is more rampant in rural areas. We tend to associate a higher marriage age with a low Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR). But we fail to acknowledge that most women who marry late belong to the privileged class. Data from NHFS-4 shows that keeping other factors constant, the level of anaemia (a key indicator of MMR) remains unchanged, even when the age of marriage is up to 25 years. These figures paint a grim picture; however, higher levels of education among women and delayed marriages are directly correlated. In 2020, With no education, 44.7 percent of women were married before 18 years. The figures dropped to 39.7 percent with primary education, 23.2 percent with secondary education, and 2.9 percent with higher education.
In a country like India, where women have internalized the patriarchal notion of letting men have the authority over their lives, raising the age of marriage might not be the sole driver of delayed marriages. The education of women is imperative in abolishing this entrenched gender-based stereotyping. With higher levels of education, women become empowered to make informed decisions. They have a better agency in their family life, as education enables them to practice safe intercourse and plan their family well. They also have the opportunity to get a well-paying job. Gender-based equality is not a mere acknowledgment of women’s rights. Whether the age of marriage is 18 or 21, it is essential not to force girls into early marriages. We can avoid child marriages among young girls if we find a solution to issues like fear of inter-cast/community relationships, poverty, dowry system, social stigma, and fear for daughter’s safety.
1 comment
What a great piece of article!