Child Marriages

Until well into the twentieth century, in
many families it was traditional to marry
off their children before the onset of
puberty. An early marriage was deemed
particularly important for women, lest
they come of age before they were married. Some apologists claim that this
practice evolved as a way to preserve the
honor of Hindu girls against the depredations of Muslim raiders. Though this
may have been partially true, such
depredations were not widespread
enough to evolve such a well-accepted
social practice. Traditional Indian culture ascribes a much stronger sex drive
to women than to men, and an early
marriage would ensure that they did not
disgrace the family under the influence
of their irresistible urges. These marriages were possible because arranged
marriages were the norm, as they
remain to this day.
Many of the Hindu reformist movements that began in the late nineteenth century considered child
marriages one of the “corruptions” of
contemporary Hindu life and lobbied
vigorously to forbid it. Modern Indian
law sets the minimum age for marriage
at sixteen for women and eighteen for
men. These guidelines are often flouted, particularly in rural areas, where
one still hears of marriages between
infants. Although child marriages still
occur, it is a very low-status practice in
modern Indian society, associated with
poverty, backwardness, and a lack of
education. In contrast, men and
women from the upper classes often
do not marry until their late twenties,
after pursuing advanced degrees. See
also marriage ceremonies.