Early marriage and childbearing among Bengali women in India: Exploring the role of culture

Abstract

One’s culture influences age at marriage, rules of mate selection, and fertility preferences. Language, as a component of culture, also influences culture itself. Therefore, language, as an indicator of cultural identity, is a significant, yet understudied social determinant of health in health-care settings. This study analyzes the role of cultural norms, measured through language, in early marriage and childbearing among Bengali speakers in India. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were conducted for 51,069 women aged 15 – 49 years from three Indian states (Assam, Tripura, and West Bengal) using data from the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (2019 – 2021). Stata was used for the analyses, with p < 5% considered significant. Among these women, 46% were married before the age of 18, 34% were married before 18 and began childbearing before 19, and 55% were native Bengali speakers. After controlling for predictors, Bengali-speaking women were significantly more likely to marry before the age of 18 (odds ratio [OR]: 1.72, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.66 – 1.79) and marrying and having their first child before the age of 19 (OR: 1.55, CI: 1.49 – 1.62) compared with their non-Bengali-speaking counterparts. Thus, Bengali culture appears to be associated with early marriage and motherhood. To address this, a multi-pronged strategy involving social and behavioral change communication, targeted programs delivered by grassroots health workers, and school-based campaigns that emphasize the adverse effects of early marriage and childbearing may help reduce these practices in states with significant Bengali-speaking populations.