widow remarriage

  

The Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act, 1856, also Act XV, 1856, enacted on 25 July 1856, legalized the remarriage of Hindu widows in all jurisdictions of India under East India Company rule.^[1]

In order to protect both what it considered family honour and family property, upper-casteHindu society had long disallowed the remarriage of widows, even child and adolescent ones, all of whom were expected to live a life of austerity and abnegation.^[2] The Hindu Widows' Remarriage Act of 1856, enacted in response to the campaign of Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar,^[3] provided legal safeguards against loss of certain forms of inheritance for a remarrying Hindu widow,^[2] though, under the Act, the widow forsook any inheritance due her from her deceased husband.^[4] Especially targeted in the act were Hindu childwidows whose husbands had died before consummation of marriage.^[5]

stop child marriage

Child marriage is defined as a formal marriage or informal union entered into by an individual before reaching the age of 18.^[1] While child marriage is observed for both boys and girls, the overwhelming majority of those affected by the practice are girls, most of whom are in poor socioeconomic situations.^[2] It is related to child betrothal and unmarriedteenage pregnancy.

In some cases only one marriage-partner is a child, usually the female, due to importance placed upon female virginity. Other causes of child marriage include poverty, bride price,dowry, cultural traditions, laws that allow child marriages, religious and social pressures, regional customs, fear of remaining unmarried, illiteracy, and perceived inability of women to work for money.