Sociology: Systems of Kinship in India: Family and marriage in India.
Household dimensions of the family. Emerging issues: ageing, sex ratios, child and infant mortality, reproductive health.
NEWS IN NSHORT:
A sharp rise in child marriages has been reported during the COVID-19 lockdown and the subsequent two months, with officials of the Women and Child Development Department stumbling upon over 100 such instances in Mysuru district alone between mid-March and July.
SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
Child marriage is referred to as “culture”, a “practice”, an “institution”, a “custom”, a “convention”, a “social norm”, or a “moral” imperative,
- Sociologists have shown that child marriage leads to other social problems that require regionally-specific solutions.
- Child brides are denied the right to education and their health and quality of life are significantly compromised, as they face a high risk of violence, contracting HIV, premature pregnancies, and various birth complications such as vaginal damage (obstetric fistula). Young brides are more likely to die during labour than older mothers.
- Education is seen to weaken the institution of marriage and it undermines men’s authority. Education is therefore constructed as a threat to the established social order.