State’s child marriage burden comes down, NFHS-6 reveals

Bhubaneswar: The incidence of child marriages is on the decline in Odisha, which was once infamous for posting a high number of such weddings in the country, with data showing at least one in three girls were married off during childhood.National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-6 for 2023-24 reveals that 18.6% of women in the age group of 20 to 24 years were married off before they attained the legal age of 18 in the state. The previous cycle of the survey for 2019-20 had registered 20.5% of women in the age group being married off before the legal age.There is also a minor drop in male child marriages. Among men in the age group of 25 to 29 years, 12.5% had got married before the legal age of 21 years, reflecting a 0.8% decline compared with the previous survey period.The report reveals that both the female and male child marriages in Odisha are below the national average of 20.1 and 15.9 percentages respectively.However, the burden of child marriage continues to be unevenly distributed across gender and geography. While girls in rural Odisha remain more vulnerable to early marriage, the trend among boys presents a contrasting picture.According to the NFHS-6, 19.3% of women aged 20-24 years in rural Odisha were married off before attaining the legal age of 18, compared to 14.7% in urban areas. In contrast, among men aged 25-29 years, early marriage was more prevalent in urban areas. The survey found that 15.1% of urban men were married before the legal age of 21, against 12.1% in rural areas.The findings also point to a modest improvement in adolescent motherhood in Odisha, although the issue remains a concern, particularly in rural areas.According to the survey, 6.5% of women aged 15-19 years in the state were either already mothers or pregnant at the time of the survey, slightly lower than the national average of 6.7%. While this suggests gradual progress, the rural-urban divide remains stark.The prevalence of adolescent motherhood in rural Odisha stood at 7.2%, more than double the 2.8% recorded in urban areas. The disparity mirrors the higher incidence of child marriages in rural regions, indicating a close link between early marriage and early pregnancy.Experts say that adolescent pregnancies often pose significant health risks for both mothers and infants, while also limiting educational and economic opportunities for young women. The data underscores the need for targeted interventions in rural areas, including efforts to delay marriage, improve access to reproductive health services and keep girls in school for longer.Officials in women and child development department said an initiative in this regard, Advika, which is not only focusing on preventing child marriages and school dropouts but also on job-oriented skilling of adolescent boys and girls, is currently underway.