Birth of a welcome change: deliveries among Muslim adolescents drop by 47% in Kerala

Teenage pregnancies among Muslim girls recorded the lowest number in a decade in Kerala, according to the latest data for 2022 released by the Department of Economics and Statistics. The figures are based on statistics of births and deaths recorded in 2022 in Kerala.

Looking at figures for the 15-19 age group, deliveries among Muslim adolescents were 7,412 in 2022. This is the lowest figure since 2012 (14,066), marking a drop of 47 percent. This decline is significant considering that the average number of deliveries among Muslim adolescents in Kerala was over 15,000 in the last 10 years. The highest number of Muslim teenage deliveries in a decade was 22,924 in 2013. The 2022 figure recorded a 67 percent decline from the decade's highest figure.

Figures show that the rate of teenage births among Muslim women has been declining since 2019. However, the decline in figures in 2020 and 2021 has been mainly attributed to the prevalence of Covid-19.
Among Hindus, Muslims and Christians, the biggest drop in the number of deliveries in the 15-19 age group in a decade was also recorded among Muslims, at 6,654. For Hindus and Christians, the figures stood at 1,749 and 2,888 respectively. In terms of ten-year percentage decline, Christian teenage deliveries fell by 87 percent.

Vice President Suhara, secretary of NISA (a progressive Muslim women's forum), said the decline in teenage pregnancies is a welcome sign. “There is increased vigilance against child marriage, which is a key factor in reducing the number of teenage births. Unlike in the past, parents and daughters want to benefit from a good education. Even among lower-middle-class parents, there is an aspiration for their children to be educated. This is one of the reasons why we demand an increase in the marriage age for women,'' Suhara said.

In Kerala, teenage deliveries have also fallen by 48 percent in a decade, figures show. From 25,234 in 2012, this number fell to 12,939 in 2022; lowest teenage deliveries recorded in the state in 10 years.

Writer and social activist Dr Kadeeja Mumtaz says that across religions, there is a greater level of awareness against early marriages and pregnancies, which is reflected among Muslims as well. “It’s not just parents, even partners who plan their lives with a different perspective,” she said.

Afifa Safiya Finzi, a 21-year-old student from Kozhikode, agrees. “We all want financial independence and self-sufficiency. If we look at past cases, we can see that early marriages or having children early did not make much difference in women's lives. There is a clear Western influence on this generation, open to more opportunities to study abroad and explore new careers. Only a few of my friends got married very young and even among them the pregnancy rate is very low. Parents are also willing to accept that we need to study and ensure a stable career and life. Marriage is not the priority here,” said Finzi, who plans to pursue his higher studies at a foreign university.

A World Health Organization report notes that child marriage puts girls at increased risk of pregnancy, because girls married early typically have limited autonomy to influence decision-making about delaying pregnancy and the use of contraceptives. Second, in many places, girls choose to become pregnant because they have limited education and employment prospects and motherhood is valued.

Kerala recorded a total of 4.39 lakh live births in 2022. Alarmingly, mothers aged below 15 years recorded seven births in 2022.