As a child bride herself, Sen discusses child marriage in India during the late nineteenth century at length in her memoir. She addresses the desirable practice of “giving a girl in marriage before she has reached puberty” (Sen 18), called “gauridan” which was expected to confer “religious merit” (Sen 18) on the girl’s family. While the term “gauridan” appears obscure, the practice of child marriage in India has persisted for centuries. As of 1866 when Sen was born, the age of consent for sexual intercourse in India was ten years old. By 1891, the age had been raised to twelve through the Age of Consent Act, which did not allow a marriage to be consummated until a girl was twelve, although child marriage before a girl reached twelve years old was permitted. In 1940, a minimum age of marriage of fifteen years old was established in India and has since been raised to 18 years old. However, child marriage has continued despite numerous legislative efforts to minmize girls’ marriages.
Child marriage has been associated with traditional Hindu customs and entangled with Hindu Law, as opposed to Indian Law, becoming sensationalized in Western media that Werner describes as having an interest in the drama of conversations around practices such as sati. While sati and child marriage before puberty have become rare in India, they remain prominent in discussions of marriage and women’s rights in India. However, some child marriage do continue today despite the 2006 Prohibition of Child Marriage Act passed by the Indian parliament.
Sources
“Did you know that the legal age of consent in 1860 was 10 years.” The New Indian Express, 7 July 2021, https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2017/Oct/11/did-you-know-that-the-legal-age-of-consent-in-1860-was-10-years-1671391.html. Accessed 22 May 2024.
Robertson, Stephen. “Age of Consent Laws.” Children and Youth in History. Center for History and New Media and the University of Missouri-Kansas City, https://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/teaching-modules/230%3Fsection=primarysources&source=41.html. Accessed 22 May 2024.
Singh, Rishi. “The reality of child marriage in India.” Citizens for Justice and Peace, 8 July 2023, https://cjp.org.in/the-reality-of-child-marriage-in-india/. Accessed 22 May 2024.
Image source
Pande, Ishita. Sex, Law, and the Politics of Age: Child Marriage in India, 1891–1937. Cambridge University Press, 2020.