Full Description
Love, Labour and Law: Early and Child Marriage in India is a path-breaking book on an issue that has not been analysed in depth for a while, perhaps since it does not affect the elite. Today, the child brides are usually from poor families. They are of 15-17 years as compared to much younger brides in the earlier times. The book discusses why child marriages persist despite numerous legislative and policy initiatives to 'eliminate' the practice. The chapters examine social and legal reforms to raise the age of marriage; contemporary education and health-related policy attempts at prevention; relationship of child marriage with child labour, sex work, human trafficking and other issues.
Increasingly, there is greater resistance to marriages arranged by parents from the 'child' brides themselves who can now access institutional and bureaucratic support. How hopeful are these developments? The book goes beyond a simple policy focus on 'elimination' and provides a much-needed understanding of marriage and women's agency within the context of the Indian marriage system.
Contents
Preface and Acknowledgements
Introduction by Samita Sen
Some Historiographical Challenges in Approaching Child Marriage in India - Mary E. John
Child Marriage and the Second Social Reform Movement - Bhaswati Chatterjee
Governing Child Marriage in India: The Protracted Reform Process - Elvira Graner
Love and Law: Understanding Child Marriages in Rural West Bengal - Ishita Savina Chowdhury and Utsarjana Mutsuddi
Schooling, Work and Early Marriage: Girl Children in Contemporary Bengal - Deepita Chakravarty
Wives and Workers: Early Marriage in West Bengal - Samita Sen and Anindita Ghosh
Linking Child Marriage and Prostitution: The Last Girl - Tinku Khanna and Juanita Kakoty
Preventing Child Marriage in West Bengal: The Experience of Barddhaman District - Biswajit Ghosh
A Select Bibliography - Samita Sen and Elvira Graner
Index
