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Religion
Various religious influences further curate a culture with an inherent preference for men, supporting the societal institution of child marriage.
While the subcontinent brims with a multitude of religions, the predominant faiths of Hinduism and Jainism fuel the institution by participating in the three-month springtime festival, Akshaya Tritiya (the Sanskrit word, Akshaya, signifying the auspicious eternality). The symbolic propitiousness of the festival encourages investing in expensive endeavors such as child marriage.
Alongside festivities, sacred Hindu epics such
as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata further promote the practice; within both texts, significant religious figures engage in child marriage due to circumstantial issues. Considering the widespread reverence of these particular epics across Hindu communities, many mold their marital decisions to emulate those of the deities, disregarding contextual considerations and effectively heightening the prevalence of child marriage.
The preservation of religious purity or chastity among young girls functions as a catalyst for child marriage with Hindu and Jain emphasis on marrying women prior to puberty, specifically before menarche: a historical indicator of a girl's readiness for marriage. Effectively, age at menarche serves as justification for child marriage, particularly in rural areas.
In 2008, 82% of child marriages occurred during Akshaya Tritiya or other religious occasions.
-GirlsNotBrides
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