nola
09-18-2004, 06:30 AM
Half of Indian women married off by 15
NEW DELHI (AFP) - India has banned child weddings but half of the nation's women are still married off before the age of 15, according to a new government report obtained by AFP.
"Half of all women aged 20-24 years were married by the time they were 15 years and in contrast few young males are married in adolescence," the health ministry said in its Country Report on Population and Development.
The legal age for marriage in India is 18 years for females and 21 years for males.
"In the large north Indian states such as Rajasthan and Bihar, 68 to 71 percent of girls were married off by age 18 but in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, this percentage was 17 and 25, respectively," the report said.
The government noted that early marriages lead to problems for the brides.
"A host of factors, such as lack of awareness, limited mobility and decision-making authority, and lack of communication with husbands have an important bearing on the ability of adolescent girls to make informed choices and seek appropriate care," the report said.
The national report also said that although a majority of young women start having sex after they marry, trends showed that more and more adolescents were turning to sex, including rape.
However it did not provide statistics nor a breakdown on how the survey was carried out.
"Sexual relationships among adolescents (now) tend to start early, involve multiple partners and often are casual, and occasionally involve coercion and non-consensual experiences," the report said.
The report warned that youngsters were also engaging in unprotected sex.
"A large number of teenagers don't even know the correct way to use a condom," the report noted, two days after the United Nations in a global report published Wednesday said only 43 percent of Indians use contraception.
The health ministry painted a grim picture of a looming health crisis in India which has an estimated five million HIV/AIDS victims.
"Young people between the ages of 10 and 25 years make up for 50 percent of new HIV infections and yet only 59 percent adolescents know about condoms and 49 percent about oral contraception.
"Unmet need for contraception remains high -- 27 percent among married adolescents as opposed to 16 percent among women in general," the report said.
An anti-AIDS organisation, meanwhile, urged the government to act.
"Instead of asking adolescents not to have sex, we have to give information on how to protect themselves," said Anjali Gopalan, director of the non-governmental Naz Foundation.
"Children are not stupid. They will protect themselves if they know how," the activist said.
NEW DELHI (AFP) - India has banned child weddings but half of the nation's women are still married off before the age of 15, according to a new government report obtained by AFP.
"Half of all women aged 20-24 years were married by the time they were 15 years and in contrast few young males are married in adolescence," the health ministry said in its Country Report on Population and Development.
The legal age for marriage in India is 18 years for females and 21 years for males.
"In the large north Indian states such as Rajasthan and Bihar, 68 to 71 percent of girls were married off by age 18 but in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, this percentage was 17 and 25, respectively," the report said.
The government noted that early marriages lead to problems for the brides.
"A host of factors, such as lack of awareness, limited mobility and decision-making authority, and lack of communication with husbands have an important bearing on the ability of adolescent girls to make informed choices and seek appropriate care," the report said.
The national report also said that although a majority of young women start having sex after they marry, trends showed that more and more adolescents were turning to sex, including rape.
However it did not provide statistics nor a breakdown on how the survey was carried out.
"Sexual relationships among adolescents (now) tend to start early, involve multiple partners and often are casual, and occasionally involve coercion and non-consensual experiences," the report said.
The report warned that youngsters were also engaging in unprotected sex.
"A large number of teenagers don't even know the correct way to use a condom," the report noted, two days after the United Nations in a global report published Wednesday said only 43 percent of Indians use contraception.
The health ministry painted a grim picture of a looming health crisis in India which has an estimated five million HIV/AIDS victims.
"Young people between the ages of 10 and 25 years make up for 50 percent of new HIV infections and yet only 59 percent adolescents know about condoms and 49 percent about oral contraception.
"Unmet need for contraception remains high -- 27 percent among married adolescents as opposed to 16 percent among women in general," the report said.
An anti-AIDS organisation, meanwhile, urged the government to act.
"Instead of asking adolescents not to have sex, we have to give information on how to protect themselves," said Anjali Gopalan, director of the non-governmental Naz Foundation.
"Children are not stupid. They will protect themselves if they know how," the activist said.