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  • Title: Early marriage among rural and urban females of south India.
    Author: Sivaram M, Richard J, Rao PS.
    Journal: J Biosoc Sci; 1995 Jul; 27(3):325-31. PubMed ID: 7650049.
    Abstract:
    Data on 2972 marriages in rural areas and 1180 marriages in urban areas of North Arcot Ambedkar district of South India, during 1982-88, were analysed. The mean age at marriage of females was 18.6 in the rural and 19.6 in the urban area. The proportion of females married before attaining the legal age of 18 years was higher among the rural community (36.8%) than in the urban community (28.9%). Univariate analysis revealed an association between early age at marriage and the socioeconomic variables religion, caste, consanguinity, marital distance, spousal age difference, education and occupation of both bride and bridegroom, and socioeconomic status of the family. Multivariate analysis showed an independent relationship of marital distance and bridegroom's occupation with early age at marriage of females in the rural area alone and the bridegroom's education in the urban area alone. Consanguinity, spousal age difference and bride's education were found to be independently related with early age at marriage of females in both rural and urban areas. The research was carried out in the representative segments of KV Kuppam block, a rural area, and Vellore town, an urban area of North Arcot Ambedkar district of Tamil Nadu, India, during 1982-88. 2972 marriages were studied in the rural area and 1180 marriages in the urban area. In the rural community the mean age at marriage was 18.56 +or- 2.86 years compared to 19.55 +or- 3.44 years for the urban community (p 0.001). In the rural community 36.8% of women married before the legal age of 18 years compared to 28.9% in the urban area (p 0.001). Univariate analysis revealed that socioeconomic variables had a significant association with early age at marriage (p 0.001). 42.4% of those who married early in the rural area were among Muslims, 36.9% among Hindus, and only 9.1% among Christians. Similarly, in the urban area these respective figures were 39.9%, 24.2%, and 12%. Early marriage was also related to caste: 36.7% of scheduled caste and tribal women, 37% of backward caste women, and 32% of forward caste women in the rural areas married early. The respective urban figures were 37.8%, 23.6%, and 20.9%. In rural areas 44.1% of early marriages were consanguineous vs. 40.6% in urban areas. The spousal age difference of 10 years or more was also a significant factor: it was 58.7% in rural areas and 42.4% in the urban areas. The marital distance of less than 10 km was 40.5% in rural areas vs. 31.8% in urban areas. When the distance was over 51 km, 32.3% of rural women and 23.2% of urban women married early. Early age at marriage was negatively related to the educational status of both bride and bridegroom. In both areas secondary education and above (10 or more years) significantly reduced early marriage. In rural areas 23.6% and in urban areas 12.8% of women married early. When the bridegroom's occupational status was low, then early marriage was higher, 39.5% in rural areas and 35.6% in urban areas vs. 33.4% and 24.5%, respectively, for high status occupation. In general, low socioeconomic status favored early marriage.
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