International Institute for Population Sciences
Deemed to be University (An Autonomous Organization of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India)

Early marriage is still a significant obstacle in achieving India’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-5.3. Thus, the study intended to assess early girl marriage and its determinants among young women in a high-prevalence state of India. Data were retrieved from the fifth round of the National Family and Health Survey (NFHS-5). A sample of 5,405 women age group 18-24 years married before the age of 18 years were included in this study. A multilevel mixed effect logistic regression model was fitted to identify the predictors of early marriage among girls in West Bengal; the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) and the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) were used for model fitness. The prevalence of early marriage in West Bengal is 39.5%. Women with 9-10 and 12 or more years of schooling, from richer wealth quintile, Household heads with 35-55 years, and Scheduled Tribe social groups showing lesser odds. Households with 5 or more members, female-headed households, women from Hindu communities, and rural areas show higher odds than their counterparts. The result indicates the need to improve girls' education in rural areas. Also, it needs culturally inclusive initiatives for female-headed households, with younger household heads, and households with 5 or more household members.