12 million child marriages rival the population of J&K, shows data

Nearly 12 million Indian children were married before the age of 10 years — 84 per cent of them Hindus and 11 per cent Muslims —reveals an analysis of recently released census data. To put it in context, this number is equivalent to Jammu & Kashmir’s population.

As many of 7.84 million (65 per cent) married children were female, reinforcing the fact that girls are significantly more disadvantaged; eight in 10 illiterate children who were married were also girls.

The data further reveals that 72 per cent of all Hindu girls married before 10 were in rural areas, compared to 58.5 per