Even as India has become home to the largest number of child brides in the world, it has set up a 10-member task force to determine the right age for women to marry and become mothers, reported Anadolu Agency.

Headed by Jaya Jaitly, an Indian politician and social activist, the task force which will also examine the correlation between the age of marriage and motherhood will submit its report by July 31.

According to a study conducted by global agency UNICEF in 2017, as many as 27 per cent of girls in India are married off before their 18th birthday. The study further says that at least 1.5 million girls under the age of 18 are married in India every year.

There are fears that the situation exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic hitting economies of people will drive many families, especially in India to marry off their daughters early.

“It is likely we are going to see large numbers of child marriages. This could undo decades of work we have done to reduce child marriage,” said Girls Not Brides Chief Executive Faith Mwangi-Powell.

A paper released by the global agency in April had apprehended that adolescent girls would become vulnerable due to situation exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It said that COVID-19 would “heighten pre-existing risks of gender-based violence against girls, stymie their social, economic and educational development, and threaten their sexual reproductive health”.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Jaitly said keeping in view Indian situation, the issue of child marriage is a complex one as it involves various factors including health and education.

“India is a layered society with different mindsets. While the poverty-stricken, oppressed community tries to marry off their daughter before 18, the urban women population looks at more possibilities in terms of career,” she said.

According to a law enacted in 1978, while the legal age of marriage for women was raised from 15-18, the biggest challenge has been its implementation. - BERNAMA