Traditions have been considerably changed in respect of women marrying before the legal age in EAG states of India

Proportion of women marrying before the legal age in EAG states of India has been obtained from the data collected during Annual Health Survey, 2010.  This has been obtained for the currently married women in these states as well as for the women who married during 2007-09.  This is one of the important indicators having bearing on birth rates, and fertility of women.  Any advancement in this women’ marriage age, does effect the population dynamics of the region/states and hence on its development. Here below for the eight least developed EAG states, on which the Government of India has the focus so that their development would actually lead in the advancement of India as a whole as the same is dependent significantly on these states, the movement of the said indicator has been discussed.

1.    Rajasthan

Over 57% of currently married women age 20-24 years got married before the legal minimum age of 18 and little less 52 percent of men age 25-29 years got married before the legal minimum age of 21 as per recent large scale survey.  The same for urban Rajasthan are much less and are around forty three percent and 35 percent respectively.

The proportion of girls marrying during 2007-09 below legal age is 22 percent. In urban areas the corresponding percentage is only 9 percent.

The customary marriages under the legal age are seen to have been significantly reduced from 57% to 22% which is about 40%.

2.    Uttarakhand

Over 25% of currently married women age 20-24 years got married before the legal minimum age of 18 and 23 percent of men age 25-29 years got married before the legal minimum age of 21 as per recent large scale survey.  The same for urban Uttarakhand are much less and are around 20 percent and around 16 percent respectively.

The proportion of girls marrying during 2007-09 below legal age is 3 percent. In urban areas the corresponding percentage is only 1.3 percent.

The customary marriages under the legal age are seen to have been significantly reduced from 25% to 6% which is about one-fourth.

3.    Uttar Pradesh

About 39.2% of currently married women age 20-24 years got married before the legal minimum age of 18 and about 38.8 percent of men age 25-29 years got married before the legal minimum age of 21 as per recent large scale survey.  The same for urban Uttar Pradesh are around 27 percent and little over 23 percent respectively.

The proportion of girls marrying during 2007-09 below legal age is 9 percent. In urban areas the corresponding percentage is only 3 percent.

The customary marriages under the legal age are seen to have been significantly reduced from 39% to 9% which is about one-forth.

4.    Odisha

About 31% of currently married women age 20-24 years got married before the legal minimum age of 18 and about 18 percent of men age 25-29 years got married before the legal minimum age of 21 as per recent large scale survey.  The same for urban Odisha are little less and are around 27 percent and 15 percent respectively.

The proportion of girls marrying during 2007-09 below legal age is 6 percent. In urban areas the corresponding percentage is only 3 percent.

The customary marriages under the legal age are seen to have been significantly reduced from 31% to 6% which is about one-fifth.

5.    Madhya Pradesh

About 48% of currently married women age 20-24 years got married before the legal minimum age of 18 and about 43 percent of men age 25-29 years got married before the legal minimum age of 21 as per recent large scale survey.  The same for urban Madhya Pradesh are around 33 percent and 25 percent respectively.

The proportion of girls marrying during 2007-09 below legal age is 12.5 percent. In urban areas the corresponding percentage is only 4.1 percent.

The customary marriages under the legal age are seen to have been significantly reduced from 48% to 12.5% which is about one-forth.

6.    Chhattisgarh 

About 38% of currently married women age 20-24 years got married before the legal minimum age of 18 and about 33 percent of men age 25-29 years got married before the legal minimum age of 21 as per recent large scale survey.  The same for urban Chhattisgarh are around 28 percent and about 19 percent respectively.

The proportion of girls marrying during 2007-09 below legal age is 6 percent. In urban areas the corresponding percentage is only 3.7 percent.

The customary marriages under the legal age are seen to have been significantly reduced from 38% to 6% which is about one-sixth.

7.    Bihar

About 55% of currently married women age 20-24 years got married before the legal minimum age of 18 and about 42 percent of men age 25-29 years got married before the legal minimum age of 21 as per recent large scale survey.  The same for urban Bihar are around 45 percent and about 30 percent respectively.

The proportion of girls marrying during 2007-09  below legal age is 20 percent. In urban areas the corresponding percentage is only 11.0 percent.

The customary marriages under the legal age are seen to have been significantly reduced from 55% to 20% which is about one-third.

8.    Jharkhand

About 52% of currently married women age 20-24 years got married before the legal minimum age of 18 and about 34 percent of men age 25-29 years got married before the legal minimum age of 21 as per recent large scale survey.  The same for urban Jharkhand are around 39 percent and about 24 percent respectively.

The proportion of girls marrying during 2007-09 below legal age is 17.6 percent. In urban areas the corresponding percentage is only 8.4 percent.

The customary marriages under the legal age is seen to have been significantly reduced from 52% to 18% which is about one-third.

The present scene is the following:

S. No.	State	Proportion Women marrying before the legal age of 18 years
1	Rajasthan	22
2	Odisha	06
3	Bihar	20
4	Jharkhand	18
5	Madhya Pradesh	13
6	Chhattisgarh	06
7	Uttar Pradesh	09
8	Uttarakhand	03

The traditional problem of marrying the daughters before the legal age of 18 years is still quite significant in Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. 

The districts of Rajasthan where the problem is more acute are: Bhilwara (54%), Rajsamand (42%), Bundi (38%), Jhalawar (37%), Tonk (36%) and Dausa (35%).

The districts of Bihar where the problem is more acute are: Jamui (51%), Nawada (51%), Gaya (44%), Nalanda (37%), Sheikhpura (37%) and Lakhisarai (36%).

The districts of Jharkhand where the problem is more acute are: Dumka (38%), Deoghar (33%), Giridih (32%), Godda (28%), Kodarma (27%) and Pakaur (26%).

The districts of Madhya Pradesh where the problem is more acute are: Sheopur (54%), Tikamgarh (30%), Chhatarpur (29%), Barwani (27%), Rajgarh (27%) and Mandsaur (27%).

The districts of Uttar Pradesh where the problem is more acute are: Shrawasti (35%), Siddarthnagar (35%), Bundi (38%), Balrampur (35%), Lalitpur (33%) and Bahraich (27%).