In his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “We have formed a committee to ensure that the daughters are no longer suffering from malnutrition and they are married off at the right age. As soon as the report is submitted, appropriate decisions will be taken about the age of marriage of daughters.” Even though reports suggest that the minimum age of marriage for girls should be 18, are we really taking into consideration that marriage age can affect a woman's health?
It is observed that early marriage can reduce the maternal mortality ratio and infant mortality ratio as well. In fact, if we go by the official statistics, the number of maternal deaths for every 100,000 children born is 145. Our country's infant mortality ratio shows that 30 of every 1,000 children born in a year's time die even before they turn one. Not just that, more than half the women of reproductive age in India are anemic. And it should sound scary when we say that the prevalence of anemia among women has continually been high over the last 20 years.
To understand this better, we asked two experts to understand the physical as well as mental aspects of marrying too soon.
Dr. Ishita Mukerji, Senior Psychologist at Kaleidoscope, a mental wellness center says, "Marriage as a social institution still mainly deals with the furthering of the lineage. Keeping that in mind, a few factors readily raise their heads when one talks about the issues regarding marriage, especially factors relating to women’s health. Lots of issues have been identified that bear close relationships with women’s health in marriage. Lower awareness of health knowledge, physical growth and development, women bearing children at early ages all increase the risk of maternal health problems, disability and death."
Some psychological issues pointed out by her are:
1. Emotional immaturity
2. Might develop clinical disorders such as depression, anxiety, Post-partum Depression, in cases of domestic violence, miscarriage, etc.
3. Failure to meet up the expectations of the elders leads to diff sorts of psychological issues.
4. Incomplete goals and dreams in life might lead to a clash and conflicts within the family further leading to low self-esteem and decreased confidence.
Dr. Rachna Khanna Singh, mental wellness, lifestyle, and relationship expert also shared her thoughts on the same and said, "Medical experts, as well as the legal system, also believe that women need to be at least in a mature age of 18 to understand their body, physically and mentally. Especially to withhold any kind of sexual interaction because women in orthodox families are also expected to have children early. This whole idea comes from the same concept of 'start young, start your families young' because you're energetic and can take care of the children."
She went on to say, "Of course, the legal age is 18 but it's nothing if you really look at it from the health perspective. I'd say, at least finish your college education, work for a year or two, explore the world and explore yourself. Because up till you're a student, your maturity level isn't that high as when you hit the real world."
"Girls who get married too young who have had very minimal exposure face a real hard time settling down. This is because their maturity levels are not high enough, which is from the mental health perspective. From the physical health perspective, their reproductive organs are also not mature enough. Having said that, one should wait at least until the early 20s to have a child or expand your family," concluded Dr. Rachna.