The Effects of Communal Violence on Women’s Marital Outcomes

This study examines the effects of communal violence on women’s marital outcomes. Using individual-level survey data from India and a difference-in-differences approach, the study shows that women’s age of marriage decreased, and the probability of getting married before the age of 18 increased after the Hindu-Muslim riots in Gujarat in 2002. Event study and synthetic control methods suggest that these effects are prominent two years after the riots and have increased over time. Women married after the riots also had fewer years of education and poorer social and economic status, such as a lower probability of employment and lower autonomy in household decision-making