NEW DELHI: The government is likely to decide on changing the minimum legal age for women to get married. Experts say that the current minimum age of 18 years is not a perfect time for a woman to get married and bear children.
The age of marriage of a woman in India dependence upon several factors such as the state, level of education, families' financial status, caste and religion, according to National Family Health Survey (2015-16)
An analysis of the government data revealed that women in central and eastern states of the country are likely to get married at the earliest. On the other hand, women in northern and southern states of the country preferred to get married relatively later in life.
When the age of first marriage of women between the age of 25 and 49 years was compiled based on rural and urban areas, it was found that women in villages get married earlier than women in cities. Most likely due to the access to education and work opportunities available in urban areas.
Education is one of the best deterrents against the early marriage of women. Women who have completed 12 years or more of education get married much later, the data revealed. On the other hand, women with poor level of education are likely to get married before the legal age of 18 years.
Women from financially well-off families are likely to get married relatively later in life compared to those with limited financial means.
The same data when classified based on religion, it was found that women in the Christian community prefer to marry later in life with a median age of 21.6. Hindus with a median age of 18.5 were the religious group that is likely to marry at the earliest.
There wasn't much change observed in the age of marriage of woman in case of Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Classes. The women in all these three groups married at a much younger age relative to the rest of the society.