Trend and determinants of early marriage in Rajasthan: Evidence from the national family health survey

Child marriage in India is still a major concern to attain the sustainable development goal. Although child marriage or early marriage is a violation of human rights and has many demographic and health consequences, it remains high in many parts of the country, and the state of Rajasthan, one among them, needs attention. Hence, this study attempted to analyze the trend in child marriage and used a social-ecological framework to examine predictors of early marriage in Rajasthan. The study used various rounds of NFHS data collected from 1992/93 to 2015/16. The study is focused on currently married women of 20-24 years. The results revealed that although child marriage has declined over the period, a higher prevalence is in Rajasthan. Results from the logistic regression delineate that being not educated either of the partners and belonging to a poor household increased the risk of getting married early. Regionally, the high rural population, and the gender gap in literacy followed by social tradition practices increase the risk of early marriages in the districts of Rajasthan. Findings suggest that facilitating educational opportunities for girls, economic support to poor families, and increasing awareness in rural areas will push to a positive impact.