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Cabinet Clears Proposal to Increase Marriageable age for Women to 21 Yrs from 18 Yrs

Cabinet Clears Proposal to Increase Marriageable age for Women to 21 Yrs from 18 Yrs

Overview

The Union Cabinet has cleared the proposal to raise the legal marriageable age of women to 21 years. This move would bring the marriageable age of both men and women at par. Initially, the legal age of women was 18 years for women and 21 years for men. This move will be accompanied by amendments in personal law governing the age of marriage. Under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 the minimum age of marriage for women is 18 years and 21 years for men. Under the Muslim personal laws, the legal age for a woman to marry is the age at which she attains puberty. The Special Marriage Act, 1954 and the Prohibition of Child Marriages Act, 2006 also provide 18 years as the age of marriage for women and 21 years for men. 

What is the legal age of marriage under different personal laws?

The following provisions govern the legal marriage age of women under different personal laws:

1.    The Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872 

Section 60(1) of the Act provides that for a marriage to be registered the bride should not be less than 18 years of age. Then only a Christian marriage certificate can be obtained.

2.    The Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936

Section 3(c) of the Act provides the requisites of a valid marriage. A marriage will not be considered valid if the bride has not completed 18 years of age.

3.    The Special Marriage Act, 1954

Section 4(c) of the Act states the legal age of a woman to marry should be 18 years.

4.    The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955

According to section 5(iii) of the Act, the legal marriageable age of a woman should be 18 years.

5.    The Prohibition of Child Marriages Act, 2006 

Section 2(a) of the Act gives the definition of ‘child’. Child means a male who has not completed 21 years of age. In the case of a woman, if she has not completed 18 years of age, she will be considered a child. Child marriage refers to any marriage to which either of the contracting party is a child. Though child marriages are not void per se in India, they are voidable at the option of the contracting party who is a child. In furtherance of the Cabinet approval, amendments will be made in the aforementioned Acts to raise the legal age of marriage for women. 

Task Force set by the Government of India

In 2020, the Government of India (GOI) had set up a Task Force to examine matters pertaining to the age of motherhood, lowering Maternity Mortality Rates (MMR), improvement of nutritional levels, and other issues. The task force was given 6 months to present its recommendations on these issues. Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman during her budget speech for 2020-21 stated that women’s age of marriage was raised from 15 years to 18 years in 1978 by amending the Sharda Act, 1929. Now, various opportunities have opened up for women to pursue higher education and careers. Thus, the entire issue of a girl entering into motherhood needs to be examined. The Task Force was headed by Ms. Jaya Jaitly and it recommended that the legal age of women should be brought at par with men.

Correlation between age of marriage and women’s health

Prevention of early marriage can decrease the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and infant mortality ratio (IMR). MMR portrays the risk of maternal death relative to the number of live births. IMR provides the number of death rates of infants before reaching 1 year of age per 1000 birth. Presently, the number of maternal deaths is 145 for every 1,00,000 infants born. IMR depicts that at least 30 infants die before completing 1 year of age. The Head of Nutrition Research and Additional Professor at the Public Health Foundation of India, Shweta Khandelwed stated that young mothers are more susceptible to anemia. More than half of the women falling under the reproductive age are anemic.

Progressive move to empower women

1.    Socio-economic stand:

Raising the legal age of marriage for women to 21 years has many benefits on social and economic stands. This move can lead to lowering the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) and improving the nutrition levels etc. 

2.    Financial Opportunities:

Many opportunities will be opened for women to pursue higher education and become economically independent.

3.    Increased participation:

Since the marriageable age of women will be increased, it will lead to increased participation of women in various sectors of society. 

Conclusion

It is a noteworthy step taken by the Cabinet to raise the legal age of marriage to 21 years for women. However, the same needs to be implemented by bringing amendments to various personal laws. These amendments should be brought as early as possible. Further, this move would bring the legal age of women at par with men. If the amendments are made the legal age of marriage would be 21 years for both men and women. 

Author:

Mili Rawat
Dehradun
B.A.LLB(Hons.) from National Law Institute University, Bhopal.


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