New Delhi: Child marriage is a serious blot on our system and there has been little difference seen between communities and religions when it comes to marrying off their daughters at an early age. Data on married Indian women from Census 2011 released on Friday indicates that close to one-third of Indian girls were married before they reached the legal marriage age of 18.
As per the data, says that 31 per cent Hindu women and 30 per cent Muslim women were below 18 at the time of their wedding. Many of them hadn’t even turned 10.
However, there is a silver lining that emerges from the data released. If it is any consolation, the Census data suggests that the past ten years have witnessed a significant drop in the underage marriage rates for girls. This welcome trend has been an outcome of increased efforts to raise awareness and eliminate the practice. As per the data, marriage of girls under the legal age of 18 has fallen to 30 per cent from 44 per cent a decade ago.
Though alarming, the change witnessed in the last 10 years or so should come as an encouragement. The reason is that the decline in child marriages in India is witnessed across various religious communities; more so, also among the lesser educated sections of our society.
Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists and Jains have the lowest share of underage girls getting married as compared to Hindus and Muslims, says the Census data report 2011.
The Census data further reveals the impact of education on the child marriage phenomenon. As per the data, the more educated the girl, the later she gets married. Among illiterate girls, 38 per cent were married off before 18 years but among graduates or above, just 5 per cent got married below the legal age. Moreover, as per latest data, 38 per cent of illiterate girls got married underage as compared to 51 per cent recorded a in 2001.
Needless to say, education plays an vital role in preventing child marriage and empowers women to overcome discrimination. Girls and young women who are educated have greater awareness of their rights, and greater confidence and freedom to make decisions that affect their lives.
Similarly, among girls who could study till middle school but dropped out before class 10, the share of those getting married before 18 years dropped from 34 per cent to 25 per cent in the past ten years.
Still, in 2011 as compared to 2001 there is not much difference in the percentage of women getting marriage by the age of 25. Around 91 per cent of all married women were married by the time they reached 25 years of age in 2011 as the delay in marriage after certain age is not yet accepted by our society.
