Child Marriage in Telangana: Falling, but Not Gone
Child marriage in Telangana has been falling steadily, but it has not ended. Girls are still being married before the legal age of 18.
According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), the share of women aged 20-24 in Telangana who were married before 18 fell from 23.5% in NFHS-5 (2019-21) to 17.9% in NFHS-6 (2023-24). The all-India figure in NFHS-6 is 20.1%.
The main reasons it continues are poverty, social pressure and family circumstances. Families with many daughters, low income or a sense of insecurity about girls' safety often push early marriage.
Early marriage hurts girls' education (many drop out of school), their health (early pregnancy and anaemia) and their independence (less chance of earning and making their own choices).
Police, child welfare officials and Child Marriage Prohibition Officers in the state continue to stop individual weddings when complaints reach them, under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.
The issue links to the national Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat Abhiyan, which aims to bring child marriage below 5% by 2029.
Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006: Minimum Age of Marriage
The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006 is India's main law against child marriage. It says a girl must be at least 18 years old and a boy at least 21 years old to marry. Anyone below these ages is a "child" under this Act. The law punishes those who arrange, perform or allow such a marriage, and it gives the child the right to cancel the marriage later.
The cases in Telangana show both the strength and the limit of this law. Officials can stop a wedding when a complaint reaches them, but the law alone cannot remove the poverty and social pressure that lead families to marry girls early.
Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat Abhiyan
Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat Abhiyan (meaning "Child Marriage Free India Campaign") is a national campaign of the Government of India to end child marriage. It was launched on 27 November 2024 by the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD). Its main goal is to bring the child marriage rate in every state and Union Territory below 5% by 2029. It works by combining law enforcement, a public complaint portal and awareness drives in schools, villages and religious places.
Telangana's fall from 23.5% to 17.9% is real progress, but it is still far from the campaign's goal of below 5% by 2029. The persistence of child marriage in the state shows why the campaign stresses prevention at village level, quick complaints through the portal and keeping girls in school.
National Family Health Survey (NFHS)
The National Family Health Survey, or NFHS, is India's biggest household survey on health, population and family welfare. It asks lakhs of households and women and men about fertility, child health, nutrition, family planning, marriage, domestic violence and access to services. The survey is carried out by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), with the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai as the nodal agency. Most of India's well-known numbers on child marriage, stunting and anaemia come from the NFHS.
The steady fall in Telangana's child marriage rate, from 23.5% to 17.9%, is measured through NFHS rounds. These same NFHS figures are what the Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat Abhiyan uses to track progress towards its target of below 5% by 2029.
- Telangana, women 20-24 married before 18: 23.5% (NFHS-5, 2019-21) → 17.9% (NFHS-6, 2023-24)
- All-India: 47.4% (2005-06) → 23.3% (2019-21) → 20.1% (2023-24)
- All-India, men 25-29 married before 21: 15.9% (NFHS-6)
- Legal minimum age of marriage: 18 for girls, 21 for boys (PCMA, 2006)
- PCMA punishment: up to 2 years' rigorous imprisonment and/or ₹1 lakh fine; offences cognizable and non-bailable (Section 15)
- Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat Abhiyan launched on 27 November 2024; target: below 5% by 2029
- Supreme Court guidelines on child marriage: 18 October 2024