India's child marriage decline: A reality check for the developed world?

For years, India has been lectured on child marriage by countries that portray themselves as global champions of human rights and gender equality. Yet a closer look at their own laws reveals an uncomfortable contradiction. While India has steadily driven down child marriage over the past three decades and is even considering raising the legal marriage age for women to 21, many developed nations still permit marriage below 18 through parental consent, judicial approval, or other legal exceptions.

Data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) tells a remarkable story. India has recorded one of the sharpest declines in child marriage anywhere in the world. The real question, therefore, is no longer whether India is making progress. It is whether some of the countries that routinely criticise India are meeting the standards they expect others to uphold.