The effects of communal violence on women’s marital outcomes
Summary & Objectives
The study aimed to estimate the impact of the 2002 Hindu–Muslim riots in Gujarat on women’s marital outcomes, focusing on age at marriage and the likelihood of child marriage. It also sought to assess how communal violence affected women’s education, exposure to domestic violence, and autonomy in economic and household decisions after marriage, including differences by religion.
Findings
Women in Gujarat who married after the riots did so at a younger age, with age at marriage falling by about four months and the probability of marrying before 18 rising by roughly 4.4 percentage points compared with women in other states. The increased risk of child marriage was particularly marked among Muslim women, and the effects became more pronounced two years after the riots and persisted over time. Women married after the riots had fewer years of schooling, were less likely to complete secondary or higher education, were more likely to experience physical and emotional intimate partner violence, and had lower employment, weaker control over their own income, and reduced say in major purchases and visits outside the home.
Recommendations
The authors recommend that policy responses in conflict-affected settings prioritise protecting girls from early marriage by supporting their continued education and addressing families’ financial and security concerns that drive early unions. They highlight the need for targeted interventions for communities most affected by communal violence, including services for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence and measures to strengthen women’s legal and economic rights. They also call for programmes that tackle harmful gender and marriage norms, improve reporting and accountability for violence, and integrate child marriage prevention into broader post-conflict recovery and social protection strategies.
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