A patriarchal mind-set is one of the main reasons for most child marriages
in India: young girls, and women in general are perceived to be natural homemakers.
Their lives are to be limited within the four walls, as they are unqualified to
protect themselves from the dangerous world outside. They need not be educated,
nor employed, as they are born to serve and care for the men in the family. When young
and unmarried, they are a liability that must be prevented from doing ‘unwomanly’ acts, to
avoid bringing shame upon the community. Hence, they must be married off young to withhold
family honour, sometimes even to men twice their age. This heinous practice has notably has caused
deaths in married girls aged 15-19 due to premature pregnancies. The girls run the risk of
contracting HIV, and their children, if born, suffer from low immunity,many of them dying in infancy.
Several girls, in such a condition, are exposed to sexual abuse, and suffer from post-traumatic stress.