Child marriage: Progress made, but millions of girls still at risk in India, say experts

NEW DELHI: With the 2030 target to end child marriage approaching, India still accounts for one in three child brides across the world, while one in every five Indian young women was married before turning 18.

While the prevalence of child marriages has come down sharply from over 50 per cent in 1996 to little over 20 per cent now, experts, on the occasion of International Day of the Girl Child, have warned not to get “swayed” by the national average, emphasising that the problem is a lot more acute in some states.

Five states — Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh — account for more than half of the total child marriages in the country, according to UNICEF and government data.

States and union territories that are doing well include Kerala and Lakshadweep.

“This year’s International Day of the Girl Child theme, End Child Marriage and Invest in Girls’ Rights, calls for sustained investments throughout adolescence so that girls stay in school, remain healthy and safe, build skills, access opportunities and exercise agency over decisions that affect their lives,” UNICEF India Representative Cynthia McCaffrey told PTI.

“India has made important progress in advancing girls’ rights and reducing child marriage through sustained efforts across education, health and nutrition, child protection, and social protection. Progress will accelerate by deepening these investments while also strengthening girls’ voice, agency and participation,” she noted.

“Girls are not only beneficiaries of development, but active contributors to it. When girls have the confidence, skills and safe spaces to participate and lead, they help shape strong families, communities, and societies,” she added.

India is estimated to have more than 224 million women in the 20-24 age group who are married before they turn 17, as per UNICEF data.

Of these, more than 90 million are married even before they turn 15.

UNICEF estimates that a girl gets married every 3 seconds in the world, and the number of such marriages can reach 1,500 per day.

Puja Marwaha, CEO of CRY-Child Rights and You, told PTI that India has made significant progress in addressing the issue, but we are still some distance away from eliminating child marriage.

“The decline (in child marriage prevalence) is encouraging, but it also means that around one in five young women in India still experienced marriage before adulthood. More importantly, the national average masks significant differences across states and between rural and urban areas,” she said.

Ravi Kant, National Convenor at Just Rights for Children (JRC), said efforts made by the governments have helped reduce child marriage, but pointed out that it is still prevalent among the poor income groups.

“It is the poorest who decide to marry off their daughters early because they cannot feed them and provide for their lives, and therefore, the success of various government schemes also come into play,” he said.

Despite being legally prohibited, child marriage remains a pervasive social challenge in India, impacting millions of young girls and boys across the country.

It exposes young girls to serious health risks, especially from early pregnancies, increases vulnerability to domestic violence, and perpetuates cycles of poverty and gender inequality.

Child marriage, defined under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, is any union between a female under 18 years and a male below 21 years of age, and it perpetuates cycles of poverty, gender inequality, and health risks, particularly in rural and tribal areas.

Furthermore, child marriage directly amounts to child rape under Indian law.

As per the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, any sexual act by a man with his wife, who is below 18 years of age, amounts to rape.

Marwaha said the national trend is moving in the right direction, but complete elimination will require sustained, geography- and context-specific action.

“We need to focus not only on bringing down the national percentage, but on reaching the girls and communities who remain furthest behind,” she added.

Kant said reaching the 2030 target is a strong possibility with the help of various government schemes.

He said JRC is also working closely with panchayats and government bodies on this issue.

Efforts to curb child marriage in India began as early as the 19th century with social reformers like Raja Rammohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, and Mahatma Jyotirao Phule leading campaigns against the practice, resulting in the Age of Consent Act, 1891 and later the Child Marriage Restraint Act (Sarda Act) of 1929, which set the minimum marriage age at 14 for girls and 18 for boys.

Eventually, the age was raised to 18 years for girls and 21 years for men.

In 2024, the government launched the Child Marriage Free India campaign, which is also aligned with one of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to eliminate all harmful practices, including child, early, and forced marriages, by 2030

Kant of JRC said his organisation is actively preventing child marriage by making parents sign undertakings or through legal routes, like getting an FIR registered.

“What makes it particularly difficult to address is that, in some social contexts, it is normalised and considered acceptable or even necessary; while in reality, it cuts short a girl’s education, limits her economic participation, exposes her to early pregnancy and perpetuates the cycle of poverty,” she said.

“It is, therefore, a gross violation of a girl’s basic rights,” she said, adding, “Research has also highlighted its long-term consequences for girls’ physical and emotional well-being.”

Kant said when a girl is married off early, “we are not only taking away her childhood; we are often narrowing her choices around education, work, health and decision-making for years to come”.

Marwaha said India has several strong laws to protect children, but the challenge is translating that legal protection into everyday reality for girls.

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