Raghav Kalra
Contents
- Introduction
- Actual Situation
- Conclusion
- References
Introduction
In December 2021, The Union Cabinet approved the proposal to increase the minimum age of marriage for women from 18 to 21. For men the age is already 21.
By this move the government aims to promote physical, mental and reproductive well being of women in order to empower them, also it has helped to provide attention to the issue of gender neutral age for marriage. If we look at these points, the move seems very promising but practically the things aren’t as ideal as they seem.
In India child marriage is illegal but not void. It is voidable at the option of the spouse who was minor at the time of marriage. If both were minors both have the option to use their right to end the marriage till 2 years after attaining minimum age of marriage which means females have the option to exercise this right till they turn 20 and males have this right till they turn 23.
Actual Situation
The arguments supporting the move are true to a certain extent but they are not the complete reality.
Early marriage and pregnancy do have a higher risk for a women’s health, also a section of society where girls are married at a young age, it leads to them being denied the opportunity towards further education and their aspirations towards a career they dreamt of, but is increasing the minimum age to marry going to be the solution to it?
At present the minimum age to marry for women is 18, but the reality according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), every forth women survey between the age of 20-24 got married before turning 18. The overall rate of child marriages stands at 23.3%[1]
Will the proposed change in the law, be able to tackle the issue which the current law hasn’t be able to do over the years?
Over the years the number of child marriages has declined but not at the rate that it should have been. The need is for structural changes at the grass root level. To empower the vulnerable section of the girls, providing them with better opportunities for holistic development is needed, an environment should be formed where they are able to express and exercise their own interests regarding the vital decisions of their lives.
Rather than focusing on increasing the minimum age to marry, focus should be on to find solution for the problems faced by women who got married early. The women who have good physical, mental, and reproductive health, getting married after 21 wasn’t the primary reason for it, rather better education opportunities, better social surroundings, supportive parents were some of the reasons for it.[2]
In the present times, majority of women want to marry after 18, the need is to provide them with the opportunity to get education, learn and develop skills they are interested in, proper career guidance that can help them take better decisions for their career. Creating awareness among the parents and other people of society who think girls to be a burden is another step on which focus is required.
The instances that we sometimes see in movies and television shows about parents opposing the decision of their child to marry or continue to be in a relationship with the person of their choice leading to some parents misusing the law in order to have control on their children and decisions they make, happen in real life too. The proposed change in the current law if implemented could lead to increase the scope for such instances.
The Law Commission of India, in its 205th report submitted in 2008, gave the recommendation for the uniform age of marriage to be 18 years. It specifically mentioned, “There is no scientific reason why this should be different.” Law Commission in a consultation paper in 2018 again said that 18 years should be the uniform age to marry.[3]
While for most of the other activities that require a person to be an adult, like casting a vote, to drive a car or bike, to be a party to contract, voluntary sexual intercourse, etc, the age is 18, but to marry it should be 21, is it appropriate?
Conclusion
In most parts of the world the minimum age to marry is 18. To support gender equality and promote it in its true sense rather than increasing the minimum age to marry for women to 21, the minimum age to marry for men should be decreased to 18.
If we as a society and as a nation create an environment where girls from all sections of our society, especially from the unprivileged sections start understanding their potential and get access to such resources and support needed, not many girls would want to marry early.
References
- https://www.news18.com/news/opinion/raising-legal-marriage-age-for-women-not-the-silver-bullet-for-child-marriage-problem-4580036.html
- https://www.thequint.com/neon/gender/is-raising-legal-age-of-marriage-to-21-really-a-solution-to-end-child-marriage#read-more#read-more#read-more
- https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/raising-marriage-age-women-rights-7684264/
- https://theprint.in/opinion/newsmaker-of-the-week/new-marriage-bill-can-cast-the-criminality-net-wider-draw-more-indian-women-to-courts-cops/787767/