ABSTRACT

This paper examines the prevalence and socio-economic factors on child marriage in the Malda district of West Bengal using a mixed-methods approach: in-depth qualitative interviews of female victims of child marriage as well as quantitative data collected using structured interviews of women. Quantitative analysis reveals that educational attainment had an inverse relationship with girl-child marriage. This study also found that women who belonged to low-income families were more likely to married-off their daughter at an early age compared to high-income families. The qualitative information indicated multiple themes related to the causes of child marriage such as economic vulnerability due to land erosion, siblings as sisters, and comeliness of girls. The findings of the study suggest that child marriage could be prevented by increasing opportunities for girls’ education and employment. The targeted approach should be made among rural and poor girls to combat the practice of child marriage.

摘要

本文使用混合方法研究了西孟加拉邦马尔达地区童婚的普遍性和社会经济因素：对童婚女性受害者进行深入的定性访谈，以及使用结构化的妇女访谈收集的定量数据。定量分析表明，受教育程度与女童婚姻呈负相关。这项研究还发现，与高收入家庭相比，属于低收入家庭的女性更有可能在很小的时候就把女儿嫁出去。定性信息显示了与童婚原因相关的多个主题，例如土地侵蚀造成的经济脆弱性、兄弟姐妹和女孩的美丽。研究结果表明，可以通过增加女孩的教育和就业机会来防止童婚。应针对农村和贫困女童采取有针对性的方法，打击童婚做法。