New Delhi: With the 2030 global deadline to eliminate child marriage fast approaching, India continues to account for one-third of all child brides worldwide, with roughly one in five young Indian women wed before reaching the age of 18. Although national prevalence has dropped sharply from over 50 percent in 1996 to just over 20 percent today, child rights advocates and agency representatives caution against relying solely on national averages, highlighting that the issue remains deeply acute in specific regions.

According to government and UNICEF statistics, more than half of the country's total child marriages are concentrated across just five states: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh. Conversely, states and union territories like Kerala and Lakshadweep are performing much better in curbing the practice. UNICEF India Representative Cynthia McCaffrey emphasized that while India has achieved meaningful headway in advancing girls' rights through targeted investments in education, health, and social protection, accelerating progress requires deepening these commitments and reinforcing adolescent agency.

UNICEF estimates indicate that India holds more than 224 million women in the 20 to 24 age bracket who were married before turning 17, with over 90 million married prior to turning 15. Globally, UNICEF calculates that a child marriage takes place every three seconds. Puja Marwaha, CEO of CRY-Child Rights and You, noted that while the downward trend is encouraging, the country is still far from total elimination. She stressed that national numbers obscure stark differences across states as well as between rural and urban sectors.

Experts point out that poverty plays a central role in sustaining the practice. Ravi Kant, National Convenor at Just Rights for Children, explained that impoverished families often marry off their daughters prematurely when they struggle to feed and support them, making the effective execution of government welfare schemes crucial. Despite being legally prohibited—with unions defined under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act involving females under 18 and males under 21—child marriage persists as a widespread social obstacle, carrying severe health risks from early pregnancies, heightening domestic violence vulnerability, and locking families in cycles of poverty and gender inequality. Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita of 2023, sexual acts within a marriage involving a wife under 18 also legally constitute child rape.

Historical efforts to combat the practice trace back to 19th-century social reformers such as Raja Rammohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, and Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, which led to early legislative milestones like the 1891 Age of Consent Act and the 1929 Child Marriage Restraint Act. In 2024, the government rolled out the Child Marriage Free India campaign, aligning with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to eradicate forced and early marriages by 2030. Organizations like Just Rights for Children continue to intervene locally by having parents sign undertakings or pursuing legal actions such as registering police complaints, though experts agree that shifting cultural norms and translating robust laws into everyday realities remain ongoing challenges.