Sep 13 2014 : Mirror (Pune)
`India has 2nd-most child marriages in South Asia'
UNITED NATIONS
AGENCIES
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India had the highest number of unregistered children under age five between 2000 and 2012 and the second-highest number of child marriages in South Asia, according to a UN report which said the country still needs to improve immunisation coverage and stop gender-based sex selection.The report, Improving Children's Lives, Transforming the Future -25 years of child rights in South Asia, by the United Nations' children agency UNICEF analyses the progress made over the last quarter century on key issues that directly affect the lives of children in the region.
The highest rate of child marriage is in Bangladesh, where two out of every three girls marry before age 18, followed by India, Nepal and Afghanistan.
Almost half of all girls in South Asia marry before the age of 18. One in five girls are mar ried before the age of 15. These are the highest rates in the world.
In India, 43 per cent of women aged 20-24 were first married by the age of 18 between 2005-2013. Girls with no education are 5.5 times more likely to marry or enter into union as those with at least 10 years of education.
On gender-biased sex selection, the report said the practice is more prevalent in the west and northwest part of the country. The child sex ratio, which is the number of girls per 1,000 boys, among children aged 0-4 in India was 924.
The report also highlighted the impact of chronic malnutrition on children in South Asia, with nearly 40 percent of all under-fives suffering from stunted growth.
The highest rate of child marriage is in Bangladesh, where two out of every three girls marry before age 18, followed by India, Nepal and Afghanistan.
Almost half of all girls in South Asia marry before the age of 18. One in five girls are mar ried before the age of 15. These are the highest rates in the world.
In India, 43 per cent of women aged 20-24 were first married by the age of 18 between 2005-2013. Girls with no education are 5.5 times more likely to marry or enter into union as those with at least 10 years of education.
On gender-biased sex selection, the report said the practice is more prevalent in the west and northwest part of the country. The child sex ratio, which is the number of girls per 1,000 boys, among children aged 0-4 in India was 924.
The report also highlighted the impact of chronic malnutrition on children in South Asia, with nearly 40 percent of all under-fives suffering from stunted growth.
