Marriage Patterns in Rural India: Influence of Socio-Cultural Context

Shiva S. Halli, University of Manitoba

Shireen J Jejeebhoy Population Council, New Delhi, India Shiva Halli Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada There is considerable agreement that notable changes have been experienced in India in the timing of marriage. For example, the singulate mean age at marriage of females has increased from 15.2 in 1951 to 19.0 by 1991. Regional variation is, however, quite evident. In 1992-93 for example, the median age at first marriage was 15.1 among women aged 25-49 in Uttar Pradesh, compared to 18.1 in Tamil Nadu. Less is known about regional differences and trends in marriage patterns - endogamy, post-marital residence patterns, spousal age and educational differences, dowry and the extent to which women have a say in determining timing and partner on the one hand and the disbursal of their dowries on the other -- and the extent to which these may have undergone corresponding changes, and the extent to which changes in these patterns are conditioned by such socio-cultural factors as region and religion, and their association with female autonomy. A unique data set provides an opportunity to explore marriage patterns and differences among successive cross-sections of Hindu and Muslim women who were married in the roughly 25 years from 1968 to 1993 in two socio-culturally heterogeneous settings, namely rural areas of Uttar Pradesh in the north, in which the situation of women is especially poor, and Tamil Nadu in the south, where gender relations are somewhat more balanced, and women are relatively better off. The intention here is to describe differences in marital age and patterns among these three cohorts and explore the extent to which differences emerge by region and religion. The paper compares marriage patterns among Hindus and Muslims from each setting, and explores the extent to which marriage age and patterns have changed in the roughly 25 years separating the marriages of the oldest and youngest women. Clearly, the older women will be subject to significant recall lapses that may limit the reliability of their responses. Some preliminary findings follow: · Marriage has been increasing moderately and at different paces in the two states. In Uttar Pradesh, among both Muslims and Hindus, early adolescent marriages (under age 15) have declined perceptibly by cohort, while little change is observed in proportions - virtually universal - marrying by age 18. Among women in Tamil Nadu in contrast, changes are observed in both early and late adolescence and the evidence suggests that among both Muslims and Hindus, marriage is increasingly being delayed beyond adolescence. · marriage practices are largely context dependent. Such attributes of marriage as kin marriage, village endogamy and post-marital residence patterns, and spousal age differences for example continue to be shaped by region and gender systems. The experiences of younger cohorts remain largely similar to those of older ones in each setting. There are however some conditions in which cohort differences have begun to emerge. These include greater autonomy among young women in Tamil Nadu in determining the timing of marriage and choice of partner, and greater egalitarian among these women in terms of educational differences with husband - attributes not seen in Uttar Pradesh, and presumably suggestive of more egalitarian relationships among younger cohorts of Tamilian women. · There is considerable similarity in determinants of marriage age in this region, thought the magnitude of certain effects may vary. Clearly the most powerful and consistent factors shaping marriage age are woman's education and socio-cultural setting - south versus north more than by religious affiliation. · There is considerable heterogeneity in factors influencing dowry payments in the two settings. Findings confirm a strong positive association between payment of large dowries and natal family socio-economic status, woman's education as well as the suitability of the husband, measured in terms of his relative superiority in education. Again, socio-cultural context exerts a strong effect on dowry payments- while differences by cohort are minimal, socio-cultural context - region -- appears to exercise considerable influence on dowry payments. Findings suggest that by and large, socio-cultural setting and individual and marriage process related factors play a powerful effect on determining marriage age and practices. What is not so clear however is that these determinants have shifted over successive cohorts of women. Notably, findings suggest that while education plays a significant role in enhancing marriage age, it also tends to raise dowry payments. Conversely, while pre-marital economic activity is unrelated to marriage age, it plays a significant role in reducing dowry payments. These kinds of findings suggest that strategies to delay marriage and counter the practice of dowry need to expand beyond education or employment. More comprehensive, direct, and context specific strategies must simultaneously be sought -- raising community awareness of the negative effects of early marriage and countering fears of allowing girls to remain single, providing for the acquisition of usable vocational and life skills, and enhancing young women's real access to, and control over economic resources and decision making relating to their own lives.