One in seven girls in developing countries is married before
their 15th birthday, usually against her will. Across the globe,
more than 60 million girls find themselves innocent victims as
child brides, despite the UN Convention on the Rights of the
Child stipulation that 18 is the minimum age for marriage. While
many countries have adhered to this age restriction, others have
fixed the minimum age at 16, while some countries have yet to
set or enforce any minimum age for marriage. Though child
marriage is outlawed in many states, it continues to thrive in
the dark of night or in the rural villages often out of reach of
the rule of law. In India, Parliament passed the Child Marriage
Restraint Act in 1978, setting the minimum age for women to get
married at 18 and 21 for men. Despite the law, child marriages
still continue, especially in populous northern states such as
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.
According to a 2010 study in India one-fifth of married women
were wed before