Child marriage in India in Indian law is a marriage in which the bride is less than 18 years of age. Most child marriages involve girls younger than 18, many of whom are from poor families.
Child marriages are prevalent in India. Estimates vary widely between sources as to the extent of child marriages. A 2015–2016 UNICEF report estimated India's child marriage rate at 27%. The Census of India has counted and reported married women by age, with proportion of females in child marriage falling in each 10 year census period since 1981. In its 2001 census report, India stated at least a few married girls below the age of 10, 1.4 million married girls out of 59.2 million girls aged 10–14, and 11.3 million married girls out of 46.3 million girls aged 15–19..Table C-2 Marital Status by Age and Sex Subtable C0402, India Total Females Married by Age Group, 2001 Census of India, Government of India (2009) Times of India reported that 'since 2001, child marriage rates in India have fallen by 46% between 2005 and 2009'.K. Sinha Nearly 50% fall in brides married below 18 The Times of India (February 10, 2012)
During British colonial times, the legal minimum age of marriage was set at 14 for girls and 18 for boys. Child marriage was outlawed in 1929, under a law in British India. (However, the Assam Muslim Marriages and Divorces Registration Act, 1935, allowed child marriage in the Indian state of Assam, but it was repealed in 2024.) Under protests from Muslim organisations in undivided India, a Muslim personal law was passed in 1937 that allowed child marriages with consent from the child bride's guardian. After India's independence in 1947, the act underwent two revisions. The minimum legal age for marriage was increased to 15 for girls in 1949, and to 18 for females and 21 for males in 1978. The child marriage prevention laws have been challenged in Indian courts, with some domestic Muslim organizations seeking no minimum age and that the age matter be left to their personal law. Child marriage is an active political subject as well as a subject of continuing litigation under review in the highest courts of India.
Several states of India have introduced incentives to delay marriages. For example, the state of Haryana introduced the Apni Beti, Apna Dhan program in 1994, which translates to "My daughter, My wealth". It is a conditional cash transfer program dedicated to delaying under-age marriages by providing a government paid bond in her name, payable to her parents, in the amount of , after her 18th birthday if she is unmarried.
Definitions of child marriage
India Child marriage is a complex subject under Indian law. It was defined by the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929,The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 British India which set the minimum age of marriage for females to be 14 and males 18. The law was opposed by Muslims and subsequently superseded for Muslims of British India by the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937,Hilary Amster, Child marriage in India University of San Francisco (2009) which implied no minimum limit and allowed parental or guardian consent in case of Muslim marriages. The 1929 law for non-Muslims was amended twice after India gained independence in 1947. In 1949, the minimum age for girls was increased to 15, and in 1978 the minimum age was increased for both genders: to 18 for females and 21 for males.Child Marriage in India: Achievements, Gaps and Challenges OHCHR, United Nations The applicability and permissibility of child marriage among Muslims under the 1937 Act, under India's Constitution adopted in 1950, remains a controversial subject, with a series of Supreme Court cases and rulings.
The definition of child marriage was last updated by India with the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, which applies to all Indians except the state of Jammu and Kashmir and the renoucants of the union territory of Puducherry. For Muslims of India, child marriage definition and regulations based on Sharia and Nikah has been claimed by some as a personal law subject but has been ruled by various courts that it applies to Muslims also.M.G. Radhakrishnan and J. Binduraj, In a league of their own India Today (July 5, 2013) For all others, The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act of 2006 defines "child marriage" means a marriage, or a marriage about to be solemnized, to which either of the contracting parties is a child; and child for purposes of marriage is defined based on gender of the person – if a male, it is 21 years of age, and if a female, 18 years of age.The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act of 2006 The Gazette of India, Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India (January 11, 2007)
World UNICEF defines child marriage as a formal marriage or informal union before 18 years of age, because it can lead to a lifetime of suffering for girls who are more likely to experience domestic violence or die due to complications in pregnancy and childbirth. UN Women proposes that child marriage be defined as a forced marriage because they believe children under age are incapable of giving a legally valid consent.
Statistics
Child marriage rate estimates in India vary significantly among sources.
UN and other estimates Source% Females married(< 18)Data YearSampling methodReference ICRW471998small sample survey UN302005small sample survey NFHS-344.51998–2002small sample surveyA Handbook of Statistical Indicators of Indian Women Ministry of Women and Child Welfare, Govt of India (2007) UNICEF472005–06 272020-21 NFHS-426.82015–2016
The small sample surveys have different methods of estimating overall child marriages in India, some using multi-year basis data. For example, NFHS-3 and NFHS-4 data for 2005 mentioned in above table, used a survey of women aged 20–24, where they were asked if they were married before they were 18. The NFHS-3 also surveyed older women, up to the age of 49, asking the same question. The survey found that many more 40–49 were married before they turned 18, than 20–24 age women who were interviewed. In the 1970s, the minimum legal age of marriage, in India, for women was 15.
According to UNICEF report published in 2005–06, child marriage rates in India were estimated to be around 47%. This figure declined to 27% in 2015–16 according to a new report published by UNICEF. UNICEF also reported that the child marriage was wide spread in three Indian states (Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal) and there is a 40% prevalence of child marriage in these states.
Javier Aguilar, UNICEF’s chief of child protection, stated that India accounts for the highest number of child marriages in South Asia given its size and population.
Indian government estimate Source% Females married(< 18)Data YearSampling methodReference 1981 census of India 43.41981 Nationwide census 1991 census of India 35.31991 Nationwide censusJasodhara Bagchi et al., The Changing Status of Women in West Bengal, 1970–2000: The Challenge Ahead, SAGE Publications, , Table 1.10, page 29, rows for India totals 2001 census of India 14.42001 Nationwide census 2011 census of India 3.72011 Nationwide censusPercentage of Female by age at effective marriage and by residence India and bigger States, 2011 Chapter 2, Population Composition, Table Statement 12, India totals for < 18, 2011 Census of India, Government of India (2013), page 26
By states
The states with highest observed marriage rates for under-18 girls in 2009, according to a Registrar General of India report, were Jharkhand (14.1%), West Bengal (13.6%), Bihar (9.3%), Uttar Pradesh (8.9%) and Assam (8.8%). According to this report, despite sharp reductions in child marriage rates since 1991, 7% of women passing the age of 18 in India were married as of 2009. UNICEF India has played a significant role in highlighting the Indian child marriage rate prevalence data from its 1990s study.
According to 2011 nationwide census of India, the average age of marriage for women is 21.2.Mean age at effective marriage of Female by residence India and bigger States, 2011 Chapter 2, Population Composition, Table Statement 13, India totals for All ages, 2011 Census of India, Government of India (2013), page 27Women and men in India 2012 CSO/Census India 2011, Government of India, See page xxi, Highlights item 5 In the age group 15–19, 69.6% of all women surveyed in India had never been married.National Family Health Survey – India , International Institute for Population Sciences and Government of India (2009), see Table 6.1
Criticism Several activists have expressed skepticism regarding the decline in child marriage cases in India. They believe that "the UNICEF report might not be reflecting reality on the ground and the numbers are likely not as low as they appear in the report". They state that the data relating to child marriage is colled by local government and not by UNICEF. In India, the government ask about the age of bride and groom as a part of census data, which is collected every year. However, since the people know that child marriage is illegal in India, so they are less likely to tell the authorities that they have broken the law. Dhuwarakha Sriram, child protection specialist at UNICEF India, says that "everyone knows that there is underreporting in India – even the UNICEF is aware of it". According to Sriram, people are aware of the illegal age of marriage in India, so they are less likely to tell the truth, which in turn leads to underreporting.
Kriti Bharti, who runs a non-government organization called Saarthi, says people in Rajasthan have developed ways of evading the law. For example, marriage ceremonies for underage persons will be held at night, with small groups of people attending. This reduces the chance of neighbours or relatives alerting authorities. Once the marriage has taken place, the underage bride remains with her parents until she reaches puberty. This way, even if the authorities have been tipped off, the families can deny any wrongdoing. Bharti states in addition to this, 'in some parts of India, authorities are not always interested and child marriage may be accepted as a part of the culture.
Laws against child marriage
Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929, also called the Sarda Act, was a law to restrict the practice of child marriage. It was enacted on 1 April 1930, extended across the whole nation, with the exceptions of some princely states like Hyderabad and Jammu and Kashmir. This Act defined the age of marriage to be 18 for males and 14 for females. In 1949, after India's independence, the minimum age was increased to 15 for females, and in 1978, it was increased again for both females and males, to 18 and 21 years, respectively.
The punishment for a male between 18 and 21 years marrying a child became imprisonment of up to 15 days, a fine of 1,000 rupees, or both. The punishment for a male above 21 years of age became imprisonment of up to three months and a possible fine. The punishment for anyone who performed or directed a child marriage ceremony became imprisonment of up to three months and a possible fine, unless he could prove the marriage he performed was not a child marriage. The punishment for a parent or guardian of a child taking place in the marriage became imprisonment of up to three months or a possible fine. It was amended in 1940 and 1978 to continue raising the ages of male and female children.
Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006