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Krislimanza Research Early Marriage
Krislimanza Research Early Marriage
Early Marriage
Kris Alimanza
Jearemae Gomez
March 2019
Early Marriage
A Research
Presented to
Roland D. Agraviador
Instructor
English III
By:
Kris Alimanza
Jearemae Gomez
March 2019
Abstract
Through this article I would like to discuss the prevalence of early marriage is a worry for
obvious reasons. First, it results in girls being pulled out of school. Second, if girls get married so
young, their bodies are not ready to bear children. These underage mothers are most at risk of
dying during childbirth. Third, these girls are also at risk of having multiple pregnancies. Most of
them are poor, illiterate, and not aware of reproductive health or their right to decide when and
In early marriage, not only the rights of the parties are violated but their immaturity,
helplessness and inexperience in many respects make them more vulnerable to further
exploitation. In that sense, child marriage is a clear violation of human rights. Child Marriages
are a social phenomenon which cannot be tackled by legislative initiatives alone. Compulsory
registration may not also provide the remedy for restraining the child marriages. This would
primarily require change in mind set of the society. Attempt should be made so that people can
know about their rights, focusing on the evil effects of this practice. Some suggestion will be
given in this article as there is a requirement of further amendments and some strict
clauses/provisions should be incorporated to eradicate this social evil from the present society.
Acknowledgement
We wish to sincerely acknowledge the valuable and scholarly assistance given to our
instructor Mr. Roland F. Agraviador whose guidance in this research project was exemplary. Its
quality reflects his commitment to consistently addressing issues and the enormous amount of
time he devoted to ensure it was thoroughly done. Although the exercise has been demanding,
his unique way of addressing issues has made the whole exercise a success.
Special appreciation goes to the our classmates for their constant encouragement.
Special thanks to our parents who always there to support us emotionally and financially.
And Lastly our Father in heaven who give us love and unceasingly support to make this
Early marriage refers to the practice in which a young child, usually a girl below the age
of 18, is married to an adult man or a boy. Early marriage is a global problem. It is spread across
India. Child marriage is not only a gross violation of human rights as per the United Nations
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discriminations against Women, but also
undermines progress towards developmental goals. Child marriage is both a symptom of and a
contributor to gender inequality. Studies demonstrate the clear linkages between the incidence of
child marriage and poor health indicators, often due to early child bearing that contributes to high
levels of maternal mortality and morbidity (ICRW, 2008). Child marriage is also directly
associated with lower educational attainment for girls, limiting their employment opportunities,
economic security and productive capacity to society (Mathur et al, 2003). Child marriage
remains a widely ignored violation of the health and development rights of girls and young
women (IPPF, 2006). Governments are often either unable to enforce existing laws, or rectify
discrepancies between national laws on marriage age and 2 entrenched customary and religious
laws. This is because of official tolerance of cultural, societal and customary norms that shape
and govern the institution of marriage and family life. According to International Law a ‘Child’
is defined as a human being below the age of 18 years and it is a universally accepted definition
of a child, accepted by United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). In
India, different age groups are defined in different concepts creating ambiguity.
Marriage before the age of 18 is a reality for many young women. In many parts of the
world parents encourage the marriage of their daughters while they are still children in hopes that
the marriage will benefit them both financially and socially, while also relieving financial
burdens on the family. In actuality, child marriage is a violation of human rights, compromising
the development of girls and often resulting in early pregnancy and social isolation, with little
education and poor vocational training reinforcing the gendered nature of poverty.
The right to ‘free and full’ consent to a marriage is recognized in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights – with the recognition that consent cannot be ‘free and full’ when one of the
parties involved is not sufficiently mature to make an informed decision about a life partner. The
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women mentions the right
to protection from child marriage in article 16, which states: “The betrothal and the marriage of a
child shall have no legal effect, and all necessary action, including legislation, shall be taken to
specify a minimum age for marriage...” While marriage is not considered directly in the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, child marriage is linked to other rights – such as the right
to express their views freely, the right to protection from all forms of abuse, and the right to be
protected from harmful traditional practices – and is frequently addressed by the Committee on
the Rights of the Child. Child marriage was also identified by the Pan-African Forum against the
Young married girls are a unique, though often invisible, group. Required to perform heavy
amounts of domestic work, under pressure to demonstrate fertility, and responsible for raising
children while still children themselves, married girls and child mothers face constrained
decision-making and reduced life choices. Boys are also affected by child marriage but the issue
impacts girls in far larger numbers and with more intensity. UNICEF’s Innocenti Research
Centre published the digest Early Marriage: Child Spouses in 2001, exploring both the reasons
behind the perpetuation of child marriage and its harmful impact. The digest provides guidelines
towards ending the practice of child marriage through changing attitudes within families and
societies, expanding opportunities for education, offering appropriate support to families and
children, and working to ensure that all children – girls and boys – are recognized as valuable
members of society. The digest deliberately focuses on unions that are recognized as marriages
raises the same human rights concerns as marriage. Where a girl lives with a man and takes on
the role of caregiver for him, the assumption is often that she has become an adult woman, even
Additional concerns due to the informality of the relationship – for example, inheritance,
citizenship and social recognition – might make girls in informal unions vulnerable in different
ways than those who are in formally recognized marriages. Therefore, the following study
considers girls in both formal marriage and in cohabitation to determine relationships between
early unions (within or outside of marriage) and socio-economic and demographic variables,
characteristics of the union, as well as knowledge and access related to reproductive and sexual
health.
Conceptual Framework
among the Independent variable (IV) and the Dependent Variable (DV) and
Figure 1.1
Early marriage has been documented as the reason why girls are not in school or stop in
school. Young girls’ education is interrupted without even completing their primary education in
This study was carried out on among teenagers who engaged in early marriage and it
sought to explore causes and effects .The study was guided by radical feminist theory. However,
it was noted that lack of trust led respondents not to disclose relevant facts or information when
probing for more information. In addition, given the fact that the study was carried out in a
particular location precaution needs to be taken in generalizing the findings to the wider spatial
context.
Definition of terms
Early marriage, or child marriage - is defined as the marriage or union between two people in
Bride wealth - An amount of money or property or wealth paid by the groom or his family to the
Early marriage: Early marriage is a formal marriage or informal union before the age of 18 years
(UNICEF, 2012:1). Isolation: The process or fact of isolating or being isolated. It is also social
Poverty - According to the UN (1996:6), poverty consists of lack of income and productive
resources sufficient to ensure sustainable livelihood; hunger and malnutrition; ill health; limited
or lack of access to education and other basic services; increasing morbidity and mortality from
illness; homelessness and inadequate housing; unsafe environments; and social discrimination
social and cultural life. Based on this study, poverty meant lack of financial resources which led
8 to unattainment of educational services, poor health, lack of food and clothing, and also
Patriarchy - Walby (1990:1) defines patriarchy as “system of social structures and practices in
which men dominate, oppress and exploit women”. Based on this study, patriarchy was defined
as men’s rule over women whereby the men made decision in a household on who should go to
school between a boy and a girl. They also provided for the family up keep.
Culture - According to Taylor (1958:1), ‘culture …..is that complex whole which includes
knowledge, beliefs, arts, morals, law. Custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by
man as a member of society. Based on this study, culture was defined as “a people’s ways of
doing things. Men and women were involved in different activities. For example, men were
According to Boyte (2010) the practice of early marriage can be traced back to ancient
Greece. Marriage of girls at the age of 14 was not uncommon in 200 B.C for various reasons
including moving up in the social ladder. Sheri and Stritof (2009) also mention that early
marriage was a common practice in Ancient Rome. Women were under the jurisdiction of their
fathers, so young girls were often married off when they were between the ages of twelve and
fourteen. McLaughlin (1997) points out that according to the medieval Canon Law, by a child is
meant a male or female human being above the age of 7 years – for both gender – and below the
age of 14 years for males, and 12 years for females. Usually the marriageable age starts at 12
years and they were not counted as child marriages. During the middle ages, the practice of
youthful marriages continued and women married as early as Review of Literature Abandoned
Muslim Wives – Victims of Early Marriage 25 fourteen. Men generally waited until they were
more established in life, which was usually when they were in their twenties or early thirties. In
1371, due to the plague, the average age at marriage for men was 24 years, and for women it was
16 years. By 1427, the average male of all classes did not wed till he was in his mid-30s, usually
choosing a bride about half of his age. Rich girls seemed to marry at a younger age than poor
girls. According to Herlihy (1985), during the medieval times, in Italy the average age for
marriage was 17 years for girls; in France it was 16 and in England and Germany 18 years was
the average age - all for first marriages. However Melisende (2007) gives the following
examples as exceptions: Bianca of Savoy, Duchess of Milan was married at the age of 13 (in
1350). Theodora Comnena was aged 13 when she married King Baldwin III of Jerusalem (in
1158). Agnes of France was 12 when widowed, she was married to Andronicus Comnenus,
Byzantine Emperor (in 1182). St. Elizabeth of Portugal was aged 12 when she was married to
King Denis of Portugal and gave birth to three children shortly thereafter. Catherina Sforza was
betrothed at the age of 9, married at the age of 14, and gave birth at the age of 15.
ccording to Uttam (2002) the practice of child marriage was totally absent in ancient
India. Indra (1995) also mentions that in early Vedic Chapter II Abandoned Muslim Wives –
Victims of Early Marriage 26 ages, represented especially by the Rig-Veda, we do not find any
evidence of the existence of the practice of pre-pubescent marriages. The Vedic Mantras, such as
the Rig-Vedas, mentioned that a girl could be married only when she is fully developed
physically, before leaving her father’s home. Men were advised to marry a girl with a fully
developed body. Bhat, Sen and Pradhan (2005) also supports this opinion in their study Child
Marriage in India, by stating that in Rigveda and Vedic Mantras one hymn mentions that a
female should be married only when “she is not a child”. During the time of great epics, The
Ramanaya and The Mahabharata, the girls “used to be grown up at the time of marriage.”
According to Tikoo (1985), in ancient times, no boy or girl in India was married at a tender age,
because the Hindu way of life did not make that possible. Everybody from his childhood until
death in old age had to pass through four stages (four ashramas namely Brahmacharya,
Grihastha, Vanaprastha and Sanyasa). Women were also entitled to Brahmacharya, which was
the first stage. They were given the training of their classes. The second stage was that of a house
holder, and it was not possible for a young boy to cut across the first stage of his life before he
was twenty or even more. The question of marriage did not therefore arise. Undoubtedly in the
case of men, the age between 24 and 30 years was regarded as the proper age for marriage. This
contention is further supported by the mention of time for entering household life after Review
of Literature Abandoned Muslim Wives – Victims of Early Marriage 27 finishing student-ship.
Later on, however, presumably with the change of circumstances, the injunctions of the religious
leaders like Manu and Parashar rishi also underwent a change and introduced the system of early
marriage for girls. According to Ghosha (1984), child marriage in India became prevalent during
the period of the first foreign invasion. He mentions that child marriage came into existence
much later towards the third or fourth century BC. This was an outcome of foreign invasions,
such as Greek, Scythians, Bactrians and further down the line, came the Muslims. Norton (2001)
also denotes that the practice of child marriage dates back to the Muslim invasions. Invaders
raped unmarried Indian Hindu girls and took them away as booty. This put the Hindus in a fix
and they started marrying off their daughters at an early age, in order to protect them. After the
invaders left, a superstition took hold of people that if girls reach puberty without getting
married, they would fall prey to sexual depredation. Illiteracy and superstition also contributed to
the belief that if older men married a girl child, they would be cured of sexual diseases. The
status and position of women degraded further and as a result more and more girls began to get
married in childhood. After the sixth century, the marriageable age of girls went down lower.
The stoppage of participation of girls in Vedic education, Upanayana rituals and the insistence of
purity in yajna (sacrificial) ritual contributed Chapter II Abandoned Muslim Wives – Victims of
Early Marriage 28 to the lowering of the marriage age for girls (Arijit 2008). Parmar (1999)
notices that in India, child marriage was originally practised only by the upper caste Hindus. The
practice of pious marriage among the upper castes percolated at low levels and in due course the
practice congealed and hardened. Ever since Parashar rishi gave socio-religious recognition to
such marriages, child marriages became an accepted form of marriage among the Hindus. The
custom of early marriage became so popular and powerful that none dared to defy it. By the
passage of time, child marriages became institutionalized in Hindu society. Subsequently other
religions also started practising early marriage for their daughters and the practice of marrying
girls between the age of two and eight years old became common, not only amongst the Hindus,
but also among the Mohammedans and Parsees. According to Indra (1955), “dharmasasthras”
treat a daughter as an object of gift by her father to the bridegroom, the transaction being called
Kanyadanam. Kapadia (1963) agrees with Indra’s view and further states that the Hindu
marriage, being a sacramental ceremony, every twice-born Hindu desirous of entering the
householders’ state was entitled to contract a marriage irrespective of his age, physical
constitution and economic condition. A girl must be married before she attains puberty. In this
respect the usage outran even the Smritis so far that while the latter enjoys Review of Literature
Abandoned Muslim Wives – Victims of Early Marriage 29 marriage before puberty, usage
favoured marriages even of infants aged 2 or 3 years and sometimes even before they were born.
According to Nagi (1993), in early India, the Hindu scriptures sanctioned both child
marriage and early consummation, according to which, the girl should be married before puberty
and certainly immediately after her first menstruation. A girl had to be married before she could
lose her virginity or be suspected of having lost it. If a girl gets married after her first menses it
would not be a Kanya-dan but stree-dan. Kanya-dan can be consummated at the most at 11 years
of her age. Roy (2002) and Majumdar (2005) also in their work mention that earlier in India girls
were married by the age of seven or eight years. According to Kapadia (1966), child marriage
probably did not become prevalent until the 12th century. But once it was adopted by the high-
caste Brahmins, it became a norm for the Hindu community as a whole. Although early marriage
was the custom, consummation was not to take place until the girl reached puberty.