Page 52 - IJPS-11-3

International Journal of
Population Studies Early marriage and birth in Bengali women

Table 2. Early marriage and childbearing by background characteristics of married women aged 15 – 49 (2019 – 2021)
Background characteristics % married before % Married before 18 years and N
18 years childbearing before 19 years
Native language
Non-Bengali 38.6 28.0 23,186
Bengali 52.6 38.5 27,884
Years of schooling
No education 56.2 41.7 10,794
<10 years 53.7 40.1 27,498
10 or more years 21.8 13.1 12,777
Sex of the household head
Male 46.4 33.9 43,958
Female 45.1 32.4 7,111
Mass media exposure
No 52.6 38.2 16,735
Yes 43.1 31.5 34,334
Social group
Non-SC/ST/OBC 48.6 35.4 24,135
SC 51.2 37.3 10,031
ST 40 29.3 6,058
OBC 38.6 27.9 10,318
Do not know 63.9 50.0 527
Religion
Hindu 42.7 30.8 34,356
Muslim 55.1 40.7 15,281
Others 35.9 28.1 1,432
Economic status of the household
Poorest 53.2 38.6 17,611
Poorer 49.8 36.7 15,864
Middle 43.3 31.7 9,473
Richer 31.4 22.6 5,742
Richest 18.4 12.3 2,380
Type of place of residence
Urban 38.4 28.3 11,049
Rural 48.4 35.2 40,020
Total 46.2 33.7 51,069
Abbreviations: SC: Scheduled caste; ST: Scheduled tribe; OBC: Other backward classes.

not exposed (53%). Likewise, 32% of women with mass Hindu women. Furthermore, 41% of Muslim women were
media exposure had begun childbearing by 19, compared married before 18 and began childbearing by 19, compared
with 38% for those who were not exposed. Regarding with 31% of Hindu women.
social groups, women from SC communities (51%) had
the highest percentage of early marriage, followed by Early marriage and early childbearing declined with
those from the non-SC/ST/OBC (49%), ST (40%), and rising economic status. Among the poorest women, 53%
OBC (39%) categories. A similar trend was observed married before 18, and 39% had started childbearing by
for early marriage and childbearing. In addition, 55% of 19. These figures dropped to 18% and 12%, respectively,
Muslim women married before 18, compared with 43% of for women from the richest households. Finally, rural

Volume 11 Issue 3 (2025) 46 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.2068