29% women in Nuh district victims of child marriage

Sumedha Sharma

Gurugram, February 9

In a startling revelation highlighting the plight of women in Nuh district, it has come to light that nearly 29 per cent of them were married off before turning 18.

The figures came to fore in the National Family Health Survey-5 carried out between 2019 and 2021. At 28.7 per cent, Nuh topped the state in terms of early marriage of girls, followed by Palwal (23.8 per cent) and Gurugram (20.7 per cent). Women in the 20-24 age group were surveyed wherein many confessed that they were married off before 18.

Most struggle with early pregnancy

• At 28.7%, Nuh tops state in terms of early marriage of girls
• It is followed by Palwal (23.8%) and Gurugram (20.7%)
• Health officials say such girls face high-risk pregnancy

Nuh has long been battling the issues of child marriage and early pregnancies, which also lead to poor maternal health and high infant mortality rate. The district saw a spurt in marriages after the proposal came up law to raise the marriagable age of women to 21. “We have been running awareness drives. Many girls had even approached the Centre for its intervention. We hope this law changes the scenario,” said Sunil Jaglan, a social activist.

An official said such women struggle with malnourishment and high-risk pregnancy.