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Harvard professor reveals status of child marriages in India
Harvard professor S V Subramanian authored a study that revealed the dismal progress of child marriages in India
S V Subramanian / Harvard Gazette
A study led by S V Subramanian, a professor of population health and geography at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, shed light on the persisting challenge of child marriage in India. Published in The Lancet Global Health recently, the study was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The study focused on the prevalence of girl and boy child marriage across states and union territories in India from 1993 to 2021. It revealed a mixed picture of progress, indicating a decline in child marriage nationally over the studied period.
The prevalence of girl child marriage decreased from 49 percent in 1993 to 22 percent in 2021, while boy child marriage decreased from 7 percent in 2006 to 2 percent in 2021. However, despite the positive trend, one in five girls and nearly one in six boys are still married as children in India.
The most concerning finding is the stagnation in progress, with the largest reductions occurring between 2006 and 2016. In contrast, the years between 2016 and 2021 saw the lowest magnitude of reduction, and some states experienced a rise in child marriage.
States like West Bengal, Manipur and Punjab have witnessed an alarming increase in girl child marriages, while others like Goa, Chhattisgarh and Manipur have seen a rise in boy child marriages.
The lead author, Subramanian, said, “Our findings offer a big step forward in understanding the burden of child marriage in India—one that will be critical to effective policymaking.” The study emphasized the need for renewed efforts to reignite progress and achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal target 5.3, crucial for India’s success.
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