… in Assam,every third girl marries before 18

Though the third National Family Health Survey NFHS-3 has shown there has been a steady decline in the proportion of girls marrying before 18 years,the percentage of early marriage of girls remains high, Master said. The percentage of girls in Assam getting married before attaining the legal age had come down from 44.4 in NFHS-1 (1992-93) to 40.7 in NFHS-2 (1998-99). The NFHS-3 conducted in 2005-06 putting it at 38.6,she said. About 67.8 per cent of adolescent girls in Assam are anaemic. Prevalence of anaemia is high among adolescents,both boys and girls,in Assam,with studies showing a significantly high proportion among girls, the UNICEF official said.