4. Marriage as Coming of Age /Ticking of the biological clock Respondents generally agreed that marriage was the objective of their dating; it was the fulfillment of the hopes they carried while growing up. When asked for the specific reason why they decided to get married, several respondents indicated that there was no specific reason for their choice and timing of getting married. Many felt, at the time they got married, they had come of age and the time was right for them to start their own families. Some reported that their decision to marry was propelled by their pursuit of success; as they explained, at the time they married, getting married was a huge achievement. Resultantly, marriage was something they actively pursued such that when a girl met a male partner who was also interested in marriage, all efforts would go towards getting married. This would also please the parents, guardian and community too. Some of the child brides indicated that they were not under any undue pressure to get married, but they got married under their own volition. They said they were working and earning some money which they felt was enough for them to get married and meet the financial demands of supporting a family. Many child brides indicated that they were not pressured by anyone to get into marriage. Rather, at the time they got married, marriage was a huge achievement, so, when a girl had boyfriend who wanted to marry her, they would quickly get married despite being ill-prepared for it. 4.1 Degradation of the sacred to the profane Consumeristic behavior and chasing after the latest clothing and rich men was roundly condemned as culturally inapropriate, with respondents arguing that, culturally, a woman was expected to live with and get married to the person they elope to in the instance. Respondents were adamant that parents were violating culture by engaging in actively searching for husbands for their children. In incidences where a girl was impregnated and had given birth to a child belonging to another man, parents would compare the wealth levels between the responsible man and another suitor of their child, and would then choose who their child should marry. According to this particular view, parents were guilty of abandoning culture by calculatedly going out of their way to make sure that they marry off their daughter to an older man whose finances and wealth appeared brighter than the person responsible for the pregnancy. Girls were condemned for disrespecting culture which required them to remain virgins until they got married. As detailed by respondents, culturally, girls are traditionally expected to visit their aunts and get advice on relationships, sex and marriage, but had departed from the practice in recent times. This was pointed out as the reason for their sexual indiscretions and general radar less behaviour. Young husbands were also blamed for their lack of cultural awareness and inability to safeguard culture. According to this perspective, young husbands did not return the deflowered girls because they did not know how to tell a virgin from a non-virgin. Thus, the whole notion of child marriage could be located within the broader degradation of sacred behaviours, and their subsequent replacement with profane attitudes, values and practices. 5. Descriptions of Marriage Descriptions of marriage are intricately bound to the circumstances that led to the marriage. For example, a child bride who eloped because of love/without any undue pressure from family will presumably describe the marriage differently from one who was raped and forced to marry the culprit. Thus it is interesting to see what type of marriage was reported by the respondents. 17