Half of Indian Women Get Married Before 18 Years: United Nations Population Fund

Adolescents (10-19 years) form 21% of India's population, of which adolescent girls constitute 48% (115 million). A third of the world's child brides are in India with about half of Indian women having married before they turned 18, said United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). "Despite improvements on several key development indicators, there are still issues which limit adolescents, especially girls, from achieving their full potential," said a press release issued by the UNFPA. "Around 14% of girls aged 15-19 years are illiterate, and 73% never get to complete more than 10 years of school," UNFPA said.

India accounts for a third of the world's child brides; about half of Indian women are married before they turn 18, it said.

"The Facts like these, makes the global theme of this World Population Day, 'Investing in Teenage Girls', especially relevant and important for India." World Population day is observed on July 11 every year, which seeks to raise awareness about global population issues.

"The new development agenda calls on us to leave no one behind," said the UNFPA press release, citing Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin.

Osotimehin emphasized that leaders and communities must focus on and stand up for the human rights of the most marginalized teenage girls, particularly those who are poor, out of school, exploited, or subjected to harmful traditional practices, including child marriage.

"Marginalized girls are vulnerable to poor reproductive health and more likely to become mothers while still children themselves. They have a right to understand and control their own bodies and shape their own lives," Osotimehin said.

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Source-IANS