Even though Western India recorded the lowest numbers in a pan-India child marriage and related health problems survey, a recent article published in the Lancet medical journal this week casts light on the troubling issues faced by the child bride.

The study titled 'Prevalence of child marriage and its effect on fertility and fertility-control outcomes of young women in India: a cross-sectional, observational study' showed that a whopping 44.5 per cent of women surveyed were married before 15, 22.6 per cent were married before 16 and 2.6 were married before 13. Over 22,000 women between the age groups of 20-24 were interviewed for the survey.