Childhood: sold, silenced, stolen
This report examines the persistent issue of child marriage in Maharashtra's Marathwada region, driven by economic insecurity, safety concerns, and traditional pressures. Despite legal prohibitions, many young girls remain trapped in a cycle of early marriage and limited agency.
Why it matters
It sheds light on the systemic failure to protect minors from exploitation and the deep-rooted socio-economic factors that perpetuate child marriage.
(Names of all the minors in the story have been changed to protect their identity)
Most nights, Kirti, in her teens, is jolted awake by nightmares of a marriage ceremony she never chose: the raucous twang of a banjo band rattling out popular Hindi-film songs, garlands swaying chaotically, and a stranger, nearly twice her age, waiting at the other end of the mandap , where Kirti is dressed like the bride.
Kirti’s nightmare is triggered by the harsh generational reality of child marriage , which continues to be practised by families across Maharashtra’s drought-prone Marathwada region.
Here, child marriage is not simply a consequence of tradition. Families say fears over girls’ safety, so-called family honour, migration, and economic insecurity leave them with few choices. Activists point to predators, weak institutional protection and a growing marriage market that exploits vulnerable families.
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