Under-18 Marriage? Not in Muslim Women's Dictionary

Bangalore:  India is a country that witnesses maximum number of underage marriages across communities. The recent survey entitled ‘The Times of India-Ipsos Survey’ revealed that 84 percent Muslims in Kerala are firmly against the idea of under-18 marriage, reports TOI.

In the survey, 83 percent of the respondents are against the idea that attaining puberty makes a girl ready for marriage and they also feel that in a way, it is disrespecting the girl. Considerably, the mixed gender percentage which opposes the underage marriage is around 90 percent in Malappuram, a Muslim-majority place in Kerala. On the other hand, some orthodox people completely link the extent of education, job prospects and financial independence of a girl with a meaningful married life.

Surprisingly, most respondents in the survey were explicit in voicing against underage marriage and at the same time they seemed hesitant to admit the rational conclusions of such a stand. Some respondents preferred personal freedom like travelling outside the state or grooming themselves for a social leadership role to be included.

69 percent of the respondents strongly cited that under-18 marriage would not get rid of sexual frustration. It is also argued by some sections that early settling down in life will prevent youth from going astray.

The survey was conducted between October 3 and 9, 2013 by Ipsos, a leading global market research agency where a questionnaire was distributed to men and women in the age groups of 16-25 and 35-50 and it includes 80 respondents each in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram and 100 respondents each in Kozhikode and Malappuram.

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