Title: Upward revision of marriage age: some rural reflections.
Abstract: Every society prescribes certain ages for matrimony for boys and girls within its broad framework of values and traditions. As marriage starts the reproductive life cycle in every society, the age at which marriages are brought about is an important element in determining the level of fertility of married couples. Age at marriage is inversely related to the length of the child bearing span and the level of marital fertility. In this connection, one of the reasons accounting for the higher level of fertility prevalent in India is its adherence to the pattern of early and universal marriage for both boys and girls. Realizing social, physical, and demographic implications of lower marriage ages, a number of laws enacted in the country from time to time have prescribed "rational" minimum marriageable ages for boys and girls. Currently, the legal age at marriage is 21 years for boys and 18 years for girls. Survey data on 300 rural males in Uttar Pradesh, India, reveal poor knowledge of the minimum legal marriageable age. Only about 1/4 knew the legal age at marriage for boys or for girls.
Publication Year: 1982
Publication Date: 1982-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['pubmed']
Access and Citation
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot