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Oct 11, 2005

Do U Know - Child Marriage Percentages

In March 2005, the Supreme Court issued direction to the Collectors and Superintendents of Police (SPs) in every districts to take immediate steps to prevent the illegal practice of child marriage in response to a PIL.

Quoting the figures from the National Family Health Survey, the PIL said the percentage of women who married before attaining the age of 18 years was


71 % in Bihar,

68 % in Rajasthan,

64 % MP,

62 % Andhra Pradesh,

47 % UP,

Maharashtra (46 per cent), Karnataka (45 per cent), West Bengal (41 per cent), Haryana (40 per cent), Gujarat and Assam (37 per cent). Percentage figures ranged between 10 to 24 in Himachal, Punjab, Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir and Tamil Nadu.


forbidden came close and idiot got it right

6 comments:

  1. Whats _% (for Bihar, Raj, MP,...) supposed to mean???

    The results are shocking... I dont see many under-18 marriages in my dist(Kanyakumari,TN) even though its backward with high illetracy and poverty... What do you think the reason for such a high percentage of child marriages could be??? Is it illetracy or custom or poverty?? Any idea??

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  2. anbu
    well the ___ % is the question.
    Obviously it will be higher than that of Maharashtra etc..

    Results shocking ?? Wait till u read that of Bihar or Rajasthan.

    Its not easy to give just one reason. I think its the combination of all the 3 plus the lack of initiative from the Government to curb it.

    when the rape laws say raping a wife who is 16 is not rape even without her consent, then there is a contradiction with Child marriage restraint act which says min age is 18.

    how can the woman be a wife if she is below 18.

    thinking women are a liability, best dealt with as early as possible is perhaps the main reason. and thinking a young daughter in law, would toe the family line, and thinkin the son is not capable of choosing the right bride, is another side of the coin.

    on child marriage, i think the 21 for men is idiotic and think it should be 18 at par with women. if u r old enough to vote, u r old enough to decide who u want to marry. but then there is the attitude, men will marry someone 3 years younger than them etc... punish a person marrying a girl below 18, but why make it that he has to be 21.

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  3. Guess the marriage age for man is more to do with sexual maturity than emotional maturity. Men on average attain puberty some 2-3 yrs later than women.

    The reasons you pointed out are related to mindset of people which is very diff to change. Education and awareness campaigns could help us in changing it.

    I dont have good knowledge of law but to me it appears that if guy marries a gal under 18, he has to be prosecuted under Child marriage restraint act and not rape act which i guess isnt unreasonable.

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  4. anbu i think u didnt get my point re.rape.

    if a man has intercourse with a woman who is less than16 years old its a rape even with her consent

    but its NOT a rape even WITHOUT her consent if she is his wife.

    for more on the ridiculous (in my opinion) rape laws do u know - rape marital status age


    yeah bangloreguy. i was thinking if more than 50% of the population think childmarriage is ok, then how can we expect politicians who depend on these votes to say its not ok?

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  5. child marriage is not at all ok... i being 21 myself dont see myself prepared to get married soon.. but these small gals who are under their family's influence dont even know what marriage means.. they are not mature enough to know whats good for them.. and sometimes gals are not even given freedom to chose.. do u know a man shot his own daughter in delhi recently because she married a person of her choice...
    So do people give more preference to their false honours than their children? this is sad isnt it?

    and about rape in a marriage i think this have sex without her consent is a rape whether law allows it or not.. being ur wife doesnt make her ur keep.. she is ur partner not ur subordinate and she must be givn rights to decide when she wants to have sex and when she doesnt.. without her consent u r forcing urself onto her.. what else is the definition of rape for u?

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  6. doll, well said.
    marital rape is a crime, and India has signed the treated hmmm a decade ago, saying it will make it a crime.

    there r more idiotic rape laws, eg when it comes to rape pending divorce etc.

    instead of getting hysteric and talking about castration and death penalty, if the same people talked about the practical points in rape laws and its effectiveness, things would change.

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