historical background and events

It has been a long time since child marriage has been around: due to its predominant presence in certain cultures. Child marriage is a centuries-old tradition that originated in India, as it is strongly rooted in Hindu culture (Efevbera & Bhabha). It is still around to this day for economic, social, or honor-related reasons and costs. "Justifications for the practice, as reported by those arranging such marriages, include the economic and social or honor-related costs attached to having unmarried girls in the family. Economically, girls can be viewed as a financial burden on families, due to both dowry and their assumed or actual inability to bring income to the family in some cultures" (Raj). These cultures mold their followers to believe that child marriage is the right and only option at times. For instance, in feudal civilizations where the Nagnika doctrine was prominent, child marriages proliferated since parents were taught that if their daughters were not married before they reached puberty, they would be sent to hell (Suresh Lal). This is quite unsettling to a parent who wants the best for their child and believes that what they are being told is the truth.

Around the beginning of the nineteenth century, this practice became known as child marriage, and things began to change for economically developed countries. Countries that no longer benefited from child marriage enacted laws against it. The Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929 in India spurred revisions that raised the age of consent for marriage for females to 18 years old (Efevbera et Bhabha). This is a big milestone for a developing country that once economically benefited from this practice. It is empowering to see such an act of respect towards women in a country where women are inferior to men. Yet, this step towards a fairer environment for women; was done because it no longer benefited them economically raises some eyebrows. Was this practice conducted for cultural reasons, or was this a scheme for desperate families to gain money in a country severely suffering from gender inequality?

Sources:

Raj, A. “When the Mother Is a Child: The Impact of Child Marriage on the Health and Human Rights of Girls.” Archives of Disease in Childhood, vol. 95, no. 11, Oct. 2010, pp. 931–35, https://doi.org/10.1136/adc.2009.178707.

Efevbera, Yvette, and Jacqueline Bhabha. “Defining and Deconstructing Girl Child Marriage and Applications to Global Public Health.” BMC Public Health, vol. 20, no. 1, Oct. 2020, https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09545-0.

Suresh Lal, B. “Child Marriage in India: Factors and Problems.” International Journal of Science and Research, 4 Apr. 2015, www.ijsr.net/archive/v4i4/SUB1536991.pdf.

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