India has the highest number of child brides in the world. It is estimated that 47% of girls in India are married before their 18th birthday.
The rates of child marriage vary between states and are as high as 69% and 65% in Bihar and Rajasthan.
While fewer Indian girls are marrying before the age of 15, rates of marriage have increased for girls between ages 15 to 18.
“If a man has sexual intercourse with a wife who is below 18 years, it is an offence. The minor wife can complain against the husband within one year,” said the court, adding that lowering the legal age for sex to 15 for a married girl is “unconstitutional”.
Social activists have been campaigning to prevent child marriages through education and economical empowerment. However, India’s 2011 census showed that whilst child marriage had declined marginally from a decade earlier, more than five million girls were still married before the legal age of 18.
Sourced from:
- https://www.girlsnotbrides.org/child-marriage/india/
- http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/10/11/indias-top-court-rules-sex-child-bride-rape-landmark-ruling/
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