Paper-3, Module- 6

PAPER-3, MODULE- 6

I. (A) Personal Details

Role Name Affiliation Principal Investigator Prof.SumitaParmar Allahabad University, Allahabad Paper Coordinator Prof. Rekha Pande University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad Content Writer/Author Dr. Rekha Pande University of Hyderabad, (CW) Hyderabad. Content Reviewer (CR) Language Editor (LE)

(B) Description of Module

Items Description of Module Subject Name Women’s Studies Paper Name Women and History Module Name/ Title, Early age marriages in India: a historical description perspective To examine the early age marriages in India historically from Ancient India, to Medieval India, Colonial period and modern period. Module ID Paper-4, 3 Unit-1, Module-6 Pre-requisites To know the dynamics of marriage in India and how it was important for society Objectives To understand why were there early marriages in India How was this justified What was the discussion on the age of marriage. The laws passed with regards to early marriage Impact of early marriages in a society

Keywords Marriage, swayamvar, household, restoration of conjugal rights, nuptiality pattern, Singulate mean age at marriage (SMAM)

Early age marriages in India- A historical perspective

Introduction: While the feminist literature recognizes marriage as a key institutional site for the production and reproduction of gender hierarchies, little is known about the processes through which this relationship operates. In societies where individuals are closely linked to extended families, marriage decisions also retain the imprimatur of the family. Extended family residence and joint property-holding often keep the economic fortunes of individuals tied to their families. However, purse strings are not the only ties that bind; individuals’ social nexus are often determined by the ties of kinship, caste, and clan, whose social status is enhanced or diminished by the selection of a marriage partner, age at marriage, and the manner in which marriage takes place. In India nearly fifty percent of the girls are married before attaining the legal age of eighteen years. In a United Nation’s list India stands fourth in this regards with a tie up with Bangladesh. It is Niger which heads this list with seventy six percent of the marriages taking place before girls attain the age of eighteen. Unfortunately this has not attracted enough attention of policy makers and this becomes a big impediment in the creation of a gender just society where women are empowered. There is a close relation between early age at marriage and the socio- economic variables-religion, caste, consanguinity, marital distance, spousal age difference, education and occupation of both bride and bridegroom and the socio- economic status of the family. In fact this coupled with child marriages has almost become a custom and many people in different states follow this. All efforts to curb this evil through legislation has failed and marriage continues to be regarded as a private affair depending on the decision of the family.

According to the 2001 census there are 1.5 million girls, in India, under the age of 15 already married. Of these, 20% or approximately 300,000 are mothers to at least one child. The 2001 census also estimated the average age of marriage has risen to 18.3 for females. The male average is 22.6 years. But child marriage is still widespread across the nation. States like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh still have average age of marriage below the legal age of

eighteen for females. The problem of child marriage in India remains rooted in a complex matrix of religious traditions, social practices, economic factors and deeply rooted prejudices. Regardless of its roots, child marriage constitutes a gross violation of human rights, leaving physical, psychological and emotional scars for life. Sexual activity starts soon after marriage, and pregnancy and childbirth at an early age can lead to maternal as well as infant mortality. Moreover, women who marry younger are more likely to experience domestic violence within the home. According to a major recent survey by the Ministry of Health, which covered 700,000 households between 2007 and 2008, 43% of the married women in the age group of 20-24 had been child brides. (http://www.rchiips.org/pdf/rch3/state/India.pdf ). The legal age for a girl to marry in India is 18 – marriages below that age are considered child marriage.

Early Marriages in Ancient India:

Early marriage was very common for women both in ancient and medieval period. However the Vedic mantras in the Rig-Veda mention that a girl could be married only when she is fully developed both physically and mentally. In the Asuras marriage in place of the dowry, there was a token bride price of a cow and a bull given. One of the hymns mentions that a girl has to be married when she is not a child. Altekar also argues that girls were married at a fairly advanced age in the Vedic period. The term for marriage, udvaha, carrying away of the bride presupposes a post puberty marriage, for it shows immediately after her marriage the bride went to live in her husbands house. A marriage hymn shows that the bride was fully matured and quite grown up at the time of the marriage, she is expressly described as blooming with youth and pinning for her husband. A hope is expressed that the bride would forthwith take over the reigns of the household from her parents in law ( Altekar, 1959, reprint, 1983, 49). We come across Svayamvars in the epics, when the bridegrooms collected at the house of the bride and she chose one whom she like. The texts of the ancient period also mention Gandharva Vivah ie. love marriage, Asur Vivah ie. marriage by abuduction but Bal Vivah or child marriage is conspicuous by its absence.

It is from 4th century B.C. that early marriages for the girls began to be advocated. The rise of Buddhism and Jainism brought in an increase in urbanization and there was a breakdown of the Vedic Tribal society and large scale stratification was taking place. The writes of Dharmasutras, who flourished from 400 B.C to 100 A.D began to advise that the marriage of the girls should not be delayed after puberty. Two of the writers Vasistha and Budhayana are prepared to recommend that the girls must not be kept unmarried for a period of three years after puberty and Manu and Kautilya concur with them ( Altekar, 1983, 53-54).

It is probably from 200 A.D. that pre puberty marriages became the order of the day and many treatises advocated this. This was a period of wars by the Indo Greeks, Parthinian and this brought in a lot of dislocation in society. Spread of agriculture only meant that women were becoming like commodities and were treated like property. It is said in the Vaikhanasasutra that a Brahmin should marry a girl who is nanganika or gauri. A nanganika is one who is over eight years but below twelve and Gauri as one who is between ten and twelve and has not had her menstruation period. Yajnavalkya insisted that a girl should be married before the age of puberty otherwise every month their guardian will be guilty of the destruction of the embryo ( Altekar, 1983, 56). However it must be remembered that these texts were only normative and their advice does not seem to have followed strictly because it is said that a maiden may rather stay in her fathers house even till she attains puberty but the father should never give her to one who is devoid of good qualities ( Mahabharata, Kapadia, 1966, 139). The Smriti writes of the period 500- 1000 A.D. began to encourage marriage much before puberty and it was generally regarded that a girl attained puberty around ten years of age and hence a girl had to be married before she attains ten years in age. Hence when the muslim rulers came into India early marriages was a well established norm.

Early Marriages in Medieval India:

However, from Middle Age, as states and government developed, the political system elaborated and modified the Indian society gradually. It transformed the lifestyle and

opinion of its people from a simple to more complex form, restricting significantly the notion of liberty. Women lost their rights and had to obey rules and respect the code be behaviour. They were now subject to family discipline and the honour of their clan. Since young women were considered irresponsible and irrational in love, parents married them early thinking this to be the safest option available to them. Though the age at which the girl was to be married differed and it was rare for girls younger than 12 to be married prior to this period. Nevertheless, girl brides became younger towards the medieval period, and it became increasingly common for girls as young as 6 or 8 to be married as Indian society. The prime concern of negotiating the marriage was to find out the compatibility between the two families. It was believed during those times that if two persons know each other right from childhood it enhanced understanding and affection. Hence parents decided on the marriages of their children at a very early age although the daughter stayed with her parents until she attained the age of puberty ( Pande, Rekha, 2013, 21)

Tavernier says that the Hindus marry their daughters very early and make them cohabit much sooner. In many places they celebrate marriage at the age of four, five, six years when the husband is ten years old and the wife eight ( Tavernier, 1949, 323). Manucci also remarks that the daughters are married even before they have learnt to talk ( Manucci, 1907, 54-59). Early marriage of girls according to many of these travelers who visited India during 16th and 17th centuries led to a lot of health problems. They would have numerous children and women who had children so young soon leave off child bearing and they soon become wrinkled ( Thevnot, 1949, 117). It was probably due to the wide spread marriage of girls at young age that Akbar made attempts to restrict this practice. Akbar abhorred marriage which take place between man and woman before the age of puberty and he formulated several regulations in order to save the woman. He felt that such marriage did not bring forth any fruit and when the couple ripen into manhood and womanhood they dislike having connection and their homes become desolate ( Abul Fazl, 1927, 287). Badaoni also remarks that Akbar forbade the marriage of girls before fourteen and boys before sixteen years of age ( Badaoni, 1924, 315-349). In fact Akbar appointed an officer called Ta-i-Beg, in order to investigate into the conditions of the

bride and bridegroom and their respective actual ages. There were a large number of marriages between old men and young girls. Many considered an ideal marriage one in which the bride was one third of the age of the groom. Manucci also makes reference to marriages between a little child and a grown up man ( Manucci, 1907, 155)

It was during the 19th century when Indian history was being written and communalism was at its peak that many blamed the Muslim rulers for the phenomena of early marriages stating that the violence, looting and arson of the medieval period was responsible for this. We cannot blame the rulers for this though it cannot be denied that the turbulent environment of the middle ages when law and order were not a universal phenomenon must have given further impetus to this system. In any situation of war, arson, plunder it is women who are at the receiving end and parent’s felt that their burdens were lighted and their responsibility over after the daughter was handed over to the bridegroom and he was the one who had to worry about the security of his wife. The ideology of the patriarchal society where women are seen to be a property that belongs to some one else, her family, her husband, her in laws continues to be prevalent then and at present. Women and girls are seen as burden to be traded off and used in any way the others see it fit.

Early Marriages in Colonial India:

During the 19th centuries when the social reforms took place infant marriage had become a norm and there was a lot of gap between the ages of the husband and wife. Ramakrishna Paramhamsa married a girl of six, M.G.Ranade a girl of eight, D.K. Karve a girl of nine( Kapadia, 1966, 146). By this time marriages after puberty had become inconceivable and pre- puberty marriages had degenerated into infant marriages. Religious, social and psychological attitudes and tendencies conspired to make infant marriages for girls a rule and obligation. A fall out of this was that due to the vast differences in the age of the girls and boys many girls would become widows early on and they were treated very harshly by the society. It was during the Social reform movement that special attention was paid to this issue. The Brahmo Samaj, the Arya

Samaj took up pioneering work against child marriage because of the reality of society where due to the vast difference in the ages many girls were forced to lead a wretched life of widowhood. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar formulated a pledge to which he committed himself and which he expected his supporters and admirers to implement. According to this he would not allow his son to be married before he was eighteen and his daughter before she was eleven. As a result of a lot of discussion the Law Commission was persuaded to make intercourse between husband and wife below a given age an offence. Accordingly the Indian Penal Code of 1860 declared consummation when the wife was below ten years of age as rape and prescribed punishment extending to transportation for life. However the legislation was very ineffective due to the cultural and social ethos of the society where a woman especially married woman became a property of her husband.

In the early 1880’s took place the famous Rukhmabai case. In 1884, Dadaji Bhikaji petitioned the High court to direct his wife Rukhmabai to whom he was married when she was eleven and he nineteen but the marriage was never consummated, to move into his house to live with him and he filed a case for the restoration of conjugal rights. Justice Farran while hearing the case in 1887, agreed that the Hindu law did not order restitution neither did it forbid it. Rukhmabai was ordered to go and live with her husband with in a month or else undergo six months of imprisonment.( Burton, 1998, 1120). This became the precursor of the Age of Consent Act and different voices were heard. Opposition to the Act was done vociferously by B.G. Tilak, who led the agitation in western India. To him this was a violation of Britains post mutiny pledge of non interference in the religious customs of India. This campaign coincided with his emergence as a national leader and the rise of Hindu militancy ( Burton, 1998, 1121). This bill had been brought up in the wake of the fact that for girls during this period marriage meant being married at the age of 8 or 9 years. While the debate on this Bill was taking place a child wife of eleven years named Phulmani died when her husband raped her. More than five hundred women doctors then sent a memorandum to the Viceroy requesting him to stop marriages of girls below fourteen years of age. The resulting Bill compromised at twelve years.

The strongest advocate of this Bill was a Parasee reformer and journalist, Behramji Malabari, who contended that Britains claim to be a civilizing power were hollow and its government in India a sleeping giant if legislation to ameliorate the fate of the child bride was not enacted. On August 15th, 1884, he circulated two notes which highlighted the evils of early marriage and enforced widowhood. Malabari claimed that no shastra enforces marriage on a girl under twelve years of age, when presumably the boy must be between fifteen and twenty. ( Malabari, 1887). The honorable J.Gibbs added his comments to Malbari’s notes stating that young mothers become stunted in growth, and often become invalid for life while children were too often peony and weak. Kadhavdas added to the list of evils by stating that early marriage is a great obstacle in the path of female education.( Malabari, 1887). Malabari suggested that the Government should rule that , 1. No Hindu girl who had lost her husband or her betrothed while she was a minor should be condemned to lifelong widowhood against her will. The provision of the Hindu Widow remarriage Act of 1856 should be made widely known and enforced in favour of widows. 2. Arrangements should be made in suspected cases to ascertain whether a widow had adopted perpetual seclusion voluntarily or whether it had been enforced upon her. 3. Every widow of any age should have the right to complain to the authorities of social ill usage and such proper facilities should be afforded to her for the purpose of free legal aid in council, exemption from stamp duty, attendance in court etc. 4. That the priest had no right to excommunicate the relations and connections of the parties contracting a second marriage or to excommunicate its principals ( Kapadia, 1966, 149).

Malabari made a great contribution to society because he clearly saw the problem of widow remarriage had become appalling because of infant marriages. As a result of all these efforts, legislation were brought in. The Mysore Government attempting in 1894 to prevent the marriage of a girl before she was nine and the Early Marriage Prevention Act of Baroda in 1904 to lay down twelve as the minimum age of marriage(Kapadia, 1966,

149-151). The child marriage restraint Act , 1929, defines a child a person who has not completed twenty one years of age is a boy and if a girl less than eighteen years of age. If a marriage takes place less than this age then for the boy a simple imprisonment of fifteen days and a fine of one thousand rupees is fixed. For the parents the Act fixes a punishment of three months. However this legislation applied only to marriages celebrated in British India , leaving marriages solemnized in about 600 native states beyond the purview of the Act.

The Pre- Independence Day scenario: There has been no change in the ideology of regarding girls as chattel to be disposed off. A girl is regarded as a sojourner in her natal family to be sent away to her permanent home her in laws family. She is a burden in her own family. Her birth does not bring any happiness and she is regarded as a burden in her own family, an extra mouth to feed and money to be spent on dowry. Her only role in life is to do house work and to bear children. However society has to realize that although puberty indicates the sex instince in woman it does not suggest her maturity for sex-life. Marriage at such early age exists because of several social factors, which includes conventional gender norms, the value of virginity and parental concerns regarding premarital sex, demand of marriage transaction, i.e. dowry and poverty (Amin, Chong & Haberland, 2007). A number of recent studies have documented that early marriage is negatively linked with health, education and economic outcomes (Jain and Kurz, 2007; Mathur, Greene and Malhotra, 2003). It is also argued that young women who get married early are more likely to experience early school departure, lower earning capacity, early childbearing, repeated pregnancies, pregnancy complications, higher maternal and infant mortality, and increased risk of Sexually Transmitted Infections including HIV/AIDS (Singh and Samara, 1996; UNICEF, 2001).

In societies where reproduction is primarily confined within marriage the changes in marriage ages and the resultant reduction in proportion of women remaining in married state are directly linked to fertility. Raising of female age at marriage has therefore been recognized as one of the important policy interventions that might be able to influence

population growth. Despite apparently vigorous efforts, including legislation prohibiting child marriages, the bulk of marriages in India continue to be performed at ages much below the desired. The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1978 has laid down the minimum age at marriage for females in India as 18 years. Yet, even today the mean age at marriage continues to remain much below this legally prescribed minimum in several states. In order to deal effectively with the most urgent task of slowing down of India's population growth rate as well as achieve socioeconomic uplift of women, it is important that we pay attention to the age of marriage.

Today in India one of the important factors responsible for the present high population growth is the persistence of markedly low level of age at marriage in many of the Indian states. Age at marriage has become the focus of attention of scholars and policy makers because early and universal marriage is believed to contribute to high fertility levels. Despite apparently vigorous efforts, including legislation prohibiting child marriages, the bulk of marriages in India continue to be performed at ages much below the desired. It is imperative to have changes in the existing marital behaviour, and encourage late marriages because marriage spells a cessation of education for girls and premature assumption of domestic and child care responsibilities.

In India the impact of persisting low ages at marriage in maintaining the high fertility and high growth rate of Indian population is now well recognized. Though age at marriage of females in India has been rising slowly since around the middle of this century the current level is low in comparison to most of the low fertility countries ( Das, 1998 ) Further there is lot of variation in the age at marriage among the states especially between the northern and southern states, and within states among castes, communities and across other social stratifications.

Traditionally social and cultural factors have tended to support early as well as universal marriage for girls in India. The data on age at marriage is derived from marriage registration records. But in India it is not necessary to register the marriages and a large number of marriages are not registered. In the absence of adequate data on this aspect one has to look at the Census data. The data of National Family Health Survey (NFHS) which

was conducted in India during 1992-93 and covered 24 states is another important source of information for the study of changes in nuptiality pattern among states in India on a comparable basis. During the 1921-31 the average age at marriage of females in India was too low at 12.5 years ( Agarwala, 1962). Data clearly points out to the fact that after the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1928 although there had been a slow upward shift in female age at marriage, it was not until after 1951 that the marriage age of female was reported to be about 15.6years for India during 1951 census. As per the census information the two decades 1961-71 and 1971-81 recorded larger increases in female age at marriage at the national level as compared to earlier decades. If we look at the Census figures we get the picture. Singulate mean age at marriage (SMAM) for females in India for different census years are calculated from age specific proportions never married in various age groups from 15 - 19 through 45 – 49 ( Hanjal, 1965). However, the marriage age has undergone a gradual but steady increase: cingulate mean age at marriage increased from 16.8 to 20.2 years for women between 1961 and 2001 (Registrar General, India, 2001.). The increase in marriage age has not been widespread or dramatic: early marriage continues to be prevalent in some areas. For instance, in about one- third of marriages that occurred between 1998 and 2001, the age of the bride was 17 or lower (calculated from the 2001 Indian census data, Registrar General, India, 2001). In comparison with marriage rates, fertility rates in India could be considered to have declined at a faster rate—the total fertility rate (TFR) declined from 3.39 in 1990-92 to 2.66 in 2003-05. The decline has been geographically uneven, however. In the southern states, the TFR ranged from 1.79 to 2.13 in 2003-05; however, in many of the northern states, the TFR was well above 3.0 in 2003-05. During this period, although knowledge about contraceptives was nearly universal, actual contraceptive use was about 56 percent. Female sterilization was the predominant contraceptive method, with 37 percent of women using this method (International Institute for Population Sciences [IIPS] and Macro International, 2007).

When trends in marriage age and fertility levels are compared, it appears that states with a higher marriage age also have a lower fertility rate, although this relationship is not universal. For instance, in Andhra Pradesh, the marriage age is comparatively low

but fertility has declined rapidly. It is important to note that the factors that promote late marriage are also the ones that encourage smaller families. In the case of southern India, endogamy and kinship structures that provide greater autonomy to women have been put forth as factors responsible for both late marriage and low fertility rates there, whereas in northern India, exogamy and patriarchy have contributed to early marriage and high fertility levels (Dyson and More, 1983).

If we look in to the different states we find that ,in India, where the demographic transition is still under way, marriage norms have been for a high marriage prevalence at early age. One can see a slow change due to socio-economic changes, particularly improvements in education, urbanization and expansion of work opportunities outside agriculture. Increasing educational attainment has helped to transform the entire value system governing marriage and the family, as well as to spread new ideas about marriage and the family. Work participation outside agricultural domain has substantially increased the individual's economic independence from parents, thereby helping young couples to determine their marriage mate.( Das, 1998).

There have been many attempts to explain the change in the pattern of age at marriage. According to Goode modernization operates at both individual level and societal level and has resulted in a change in on marriage patterns( Goode, 1963). According to him, expansion of educational opportunities, changes in work force and occupational activities, and urbanization are the most important 'modem forces'. In the process of modernization individuals with higher social status (more education, modem occupational roles etc.) want more freedom and thus tend to marry later in life. Place of residence is another factor-people reared in urban areas are exposed to more diverse life- styles and to weaker social controls than those who are reared in rural areas or small towns. As a result, those growing up in an urban environment are more likely to marry late than those living in the rural areas. Empirical studies in Asian countries support Goode's (1963) modernization theory ( Minh, 1997).

In addition to modernization, there are other influential factors affecting the pattern of age at marriage, for example, religion and caste or ethnicity, in certain developing

countries. Dixon emphasized the effect of social institutions, such as the family system and marriage norms and customs as well as factor such as warfare, which may affect the age-sex ratio( Dixon, 1971).

Most studies have focused on the impact of early marriage on fertility rather than to better understand how to solve the issue of early marriages in India. In view of this, an examination of marital behavior and its determinants in varying socio-cultural set up would be useful for policy makers and planners to monitor social intervention programme. Considering the diversity in marriage pattern and socio-economic changes across the country, one has to study the effects of various socio-economic and other factors on the pattern of age at marriage.

The state level analysis of the nuptiality trend during the last three decades also reveals that while there is some increase in age at marriage in all the states, teenage marriages and universal marriage among women still persist as cultural characteristics of Indian population. However, early marriage is more prevalent in states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan than in the other parts of the country.

We find that there is enough evidence to believe that the patterns of age at first marriage of females in India have been undergoing transformation from a traditional to a modern context. Age at first marriage has increased significantly over the last few decades and it has had effects visible on the level of fertility in the country although there is enough scope to increase age at marriage for females in the country. Women who are more educated, who live or had lived in the urban areas and who work in modern sectors tend to get married later in life than their counterparts. On the other hand, although the results in the least progressive states, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan are more or less similar to states in the middle category, the effect of these modernization factors are not yet substantial among the younger cohorts as well as among urban women. Nevertheless, the overall results of all the selected states seem to suggest a common characteristic with the general marriage transition in the country and it is the socio-economic changes such as education, employment and urbanization that seem to be influencing the postponement of

female age at marriage. Economically weak and large families encourage the practice of early marriage as it helps send off girl children early, while marriage of a boy brings an additional hand to assist in household and economic activities. It is also observed that communities practicing child marriage tend to have little to no formal education. Belief in religious scriptures and the idea that these contain prescription for early marriage drive families to fulfill this "obligation." To many of these families early marriage ensures full "utilization" of fertility and childbearing capacity. Last but not least, strong caste ties limit the availability of suitable marital partners. As soon as parents identify a match, they make haste in conducting the marriage as there is always a fear that they may not find such a suitable match again for the girl.

To conclude, there is a need to encourage late marriages because early marriage spells a cessation of education for girls and premature assumption of domestic and child care responsibilities. It is important to investigate the role of various socio-economic and cultural factors such as education, occupational activities, role of women, economic independence, family structure, marriage norms and customs, ethnicity, economic hardships, unemployment and migration on the nuptiality changes, for suitable social interventions. Population policies aimed at reducing fertility should consider marriage as an element of fertility change. Till early marriages take place we can never dream of a gender just society and an empowered woman. Early marriage also leads to domestic violence as women have no control over their lives. The delay in marriage takes place due to the role of modernization factors such as growing urbanization, increased educational attainment and employment opportunities for females.We have had a long historical tradition of early marriage .Laws are not enough to deal with the issue and there has to be a change in ideology and the first step has to come from the girls who are effected.