The Importance of Compulsory Marriage

Last month, the Assam government began an intense crackdown on child marriage. This got the debate going with social activists, who pointed out that the root of the problem — limited access to education among women — is still not being addressed. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data shows that higher education levels appear to play a greater role than wealth, in delaying a woman’s marriage. It also showed wide variations in marital age between rural and urban women, Dalit and upper-caste women. In this episode, Mary E John and Rajni Palriwala discuss the role that wealth, education and caste play in determining women’s marital age.  

Link to corresponding Data Point story: https://www.thehindu.com/data/data-education-more-than-wealth-determines-womens-marital-age/article66524366.ece