In other parts of world child marriage has all along been a grave issue, as a matter of fact a universal issue , but here in the Valley of Kashmir, given the unstable nature of situation, the dilemma is that the marriage of boys and girls is getting delayed and late marriages is thus a serious issue . Late marriages have in fact become a strange norm here .According to a study conducted few years by senior sociologists at University of Kashmir, the average age of marriage of the females has shot up from 20.7 to 27.83 years. As far as the males, the age of marriage has risen to 31.53 years from 23.63 years in normal times.
Experts state manner in which the Kashmir society has shaped its social fabric and the violent circumstances prevailing are said to be among the main reasons behind this upsetting phenomenon..
Pertinently, the main causes are – political turmoil, practice of dowry, accomplishment of modern education and unemployment are the main reasons resulting into a trend of late marriages.
But there are some voices that clearly describe the prevailing turmoil being the chief reason behind late marriages. Thousands of Kashmiri youth have been killed during 28 years of militancy. Secondly, due to turmoil in the Valley, a large number of Kashmiri boys go outside the state to pursue further studies where they marry their class or college mates.
The need of the hour is to initiate a revolutionary movement to curb this unpleasant tendency of late marriages in our society.