Friday, September 15, 2006

Marriage in India

Child brides may declare marriage void- The Times of India

One can easily forget how different the rest of the world can be. From the above story:

The practice of child marriage, linked to poverty and societal attitudes, has been prevalent in the country for decades. According to the 2001 Census, there are nearly 3 lakh girls under 15 who have given birth to at least one child. Nearly 35% of women in India are married between 15-18 years of age.

However, some progress has been made:

Discussions on the evils of child marriage had begun as early as last century, but the current law was introduced only in 1929.

In fact, the Indian political class woke up to the reality when Census 1921 reported that there were 600 brides between the ages of one and 12 months.

I suppose rusks were served at the wedding reception.

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