In a notable shift in societal attitudes towards marriage, 62.5% of girls in Madhya Pradesh are now preferring to marry after the age of 21, compared to 56% in 2020, as per a government survey.
This change is likely due to girls prioritising education and career over marriage, and also government schemes providing support to them, experts feel.
According to the recently released Sample Registration System (SRS)-2023, 62.5 per cent of girls in M.P. preferred to marry after the age of 21.
These figures indicate a significant difference in attitudes towards marriage between girls in rural and urban areas. While 57.5% of girls in rural areas preferred to marry after the age of 21, in urban areas the rate was 80.2%.
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The national average for girls marrying after the age of 21 is 72.2%, and Madhya Pradesh lags behind. But, considering the SRS-2020 data, the situation in the State has improved.
While the data reflects a significant shift in the age of marriage in urban areas, there is still considerable room for improvement in rural areas.
Another aspect of this survey also indicates that there has been no significant change in the marriage rate of girls under 18.
As per the SRS-2023, girls marrying under the age of 18 was 2.0 per cent, compared to 2.1 percent in the 2020 report.
Girls marrying between the ages of 18 and 20 was 41.7 per cent in 2020, which dropped to 35.6 per cent in the 2023 report.
The SRS is a large-scale demographic survey that collects population-related data based on age, gender, and marital status.
Experts say the increasing trend of girls marrying after 21 indicates they are getting educated and want to become self-reliant.
“There has been a change not only in the thinking of girls but also in the thinking of their families and society. People are emphasising girls’ education and skill development. Girls also want to become self-reliant before marriage,” Manjula Tiwari, former deputy director of the Madhya Pradesh Women and Child Development Department, told PTI. This is the reason for the increased percentage in the marriageable age of girls, she said.
Neha Bagga, State spokesperson of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), also said that whether it is family or personal, girls are prioritising standing on their own feet first.
Along with this, the State government schemes like Ladli Laxmi are encouraging them in this direction and are proving positive in preventing child marriage. “Therefore, girls are now emphasising education, prioritising jobs, and then becoming self-reliant and shaping their future,” Ms. Bagga said.
The Ladli Laxmi Yojana aims to improve girls’ health and education, prevent foeticide and child marriages. The financial assistance under the scheme id given when a woman turns 21 only if she has not been married before the age of 18.
However, Tiwari said if government policies were the reason behind this change in girls’ thinking, then there would be no difference between the figures in rural and urban areas.
The changing social values, rather than government policies, are a more important contributor to this, she claimed.
Congress state spokesperson Aparajita Pande also said the perspective and horizons have widened. “Strong sense of self backed by sound education enables them to acquire a set of skills and project themselves as strong, independent individuals with their unique identity,” she said.
She claimed the increasing number of cases of domestic violence, harassment and dowry death have made women realise how important it is to be financially independent.
