International Journal of Research in Social Sciences

The paper explores the prevalence of child marriage among women in Manipuri Muslim community and the way which attaining menarche acts as a contributing factor for it. Particular emphasis has been given to the married adolescent girls in this community who are presently experiencing the lived realities of being a child bride. Attaining menarche, commonly referred to as balikphabaamong the Manipuri Muslims is not only a biological but also a cultural experience to an adolescent girl. It is the social marker of a girl's transformation from a carefree child to a complete human being bounded by restrictions and obligations. The mean age at marriage is low in the two Muslim localities selected for this study indicating the presence of child marriage through generations. Their traditional beliefs and the cultural experiences after menarche provoked child marriage in combination with factors like low educational and economic level. The study also found a decrease in the incidence of child marriage in the present contextdue to increase in educational level.