Raising the age of marriage
CentreCalling 13(3-4): 2
1978
ISSN/ISBN: 0577-1080 PMID: 12261900 Document Number: 447485
The Indian Parliament approved the Child Marriage Restraint Bill, 1978, fixing the minimum age at marriage at 21 for boys, 18 for girls. Early marriage has a long tradition in India. Encouragement of late marriage will be difficult until parents are educated about the ill effects of early marriage. In traditional society the daughter has been considered a liability on the parents until she marries. Prepuberty marriage was intended to secure the purity of young girls. Demographic consequences of child marriages have been studied in Iran and indicate that if the age of marriage were 21 instead of 19, births would be reduced to 15%. In India, demographers have predicted that if marriages were postponed from the age of 16 to 20-21, the number of births would decrease to 25-30%. Low age at marriage also contributes to low standards of health for women and high mortality in child-bearing. Nearly 90% of early marriages are in rural areas where education is most needed.