Factors Influencing Child Marriages among Muslim Girls: A Qualitative Study in Malabar Context

Abstract

The prevalence of child marriage is relatively common among Muslim girls in Malabar, Kerala. The data for this study was collected through in-depth interviews with ten married girls, five parents and five religious leaders belonging to the community. The study found that social and parental pressures, physical maturity, age difference among partners, family size and parental age, cognitive immaturity, scholastic factors, lack of congruency regarding marriageable age, discrepancies in views across religious groups, early marriage of parents, the practice of Nikah, and economic considerations were predisposing factors for early marriages.