The Question of Increasing the Legal Age of Marriage for women from 18 to 21.

Recently, the Union Cabinet approved a Bill to increase the legal age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years - the same as for men. The government sees the proposed legislation as a strong step towards bringing women on an equal footing with men with a vision of the right to equality. The marriage age amendment bill will come into force two years after the President's approval. Government has taken this decision based on the recommendations of a committee headed by Jaya Jaitley. The committee said the recommendation was not based on population control arguments (India's birth rate is already declining) but more on women's empowerment and gender equality. But there are concerns about raising the legal age of marriage for women.

Old laws on age of marriage for women.

Socially, the age at which girls are generally expected to marry is long affected by their puberty. Therefore, in the 19th century, the age of marriage for women was about 10 years.

Members of All India Women's Conference, Women's Indian Association and National Council of Women of India presented their argument for raising the minimum age of marriage. On September 28, 1929, the Imperial Legislative Council passed the Child Marriage Restriction Act, 1929. It sets the minimum age for marriage at 16 for women and 18 for men. This act is known as SARDA ACT because it was sponsored by Rao Sahib Sarda who was a retired judge and member of Arya Samaj.

The law was amended in 1978 to raise the minimum age for marriage to 18 for girls and 21 for boys. According to the law, if the marriage took place between a boy between the ages of 18 and 21 and a girl under the age of 18, it carries a penalty of Rs 1,000 with 15 days imprisonment. This position was maintained until the new law prohibiting child marriage in 2006.

Current laws on age of marriage for women.

For Hindus, Section 5 (iii) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 sets the minimum age of the bride at 18 and for the groom at 21 years. The same is true for Christians under the Indian Christian Marriage Act 1872.

For Muslims, marriage of a minor who has reached puberty is considered permissible. This is assumed when the bride and groom are 15 years old. The Special Marriage Act, 1954 and the Prevention of Child Marriage Act, 2006 also set the minimum age of consent for marriage for men and women as 21 and 18 years respectively. Under the Child Marriage Prevention Act, any marriage under the age of puberty is illegal and perpetrators of forced underage marriage can be punished.

Advantages of legal age for marriage of women

Many girls will be able to complete their education by the time they graduate, and employment opportunities will increase, reducing maternal mortality rates as well as child mortality. There is a significant difference in the mental health of child brides and those who marry at the age of 21. There is a significant difference in the average wage for child brides and those who marry after the age of 21. Therefore, aging will result in better mental health and financial well-being.

Scientifically, the frontal lobe area of ​​the brain responsible for decision-making develops between the ages of 18 and 20 and matures only at the age of 25. Therefore, until the age of 25, risk management and long-term planning have no effect on the human brain's abilities. Therefore, increasing the age of marriage will not only be related to decision making but it will also help in emotional regulation and maturity.

A recent Business Standard analysis found that households with college-educated women are more likely to have better nutrition and better access to government services. According to UNICEF, India is home to one in three young brides in the world, with more than 100 million of them getting married before the age of 15. Given the goal of ending child marriage by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals, the move is in the right direction.

The effect of a wave: Research shows that for children, an environment where mothers are educated, qualified or work is very different from an environment where they are not. Therefore, empowering women will empower families, empower children.

Assistance in Achieving SDGs: SDG 5 explicitly calls on nation states to formulate policies to achieve gender equality. There is no rational nexus for the age difference between women (18) and men (21). Today, women are equal to men in all walks of life.

Legislative challenges in raising the legal age of marriage for women.

Challenges in Introducing Changes to Personal Laws: There is no provision in the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act which explicitly states that this law will subordinate any other law in this matter. Even the courts have different views on personal law and special law. For example, in February this year, the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted protection to a Muslim couple (a 17-year-old girl married to an adult man), claiming that their marriage was legal under personal law.

The High Court reviewed the provisions of the Child Marriage Act but said that since special law does not subordinate personal law, Muslim law would prevail. In other cases, the Karnataka and Gujarat High Courts have said that the special law of 2006 will override personal laws and send a minor girl to a care facility. Therefore, the enactment of the Child Marriage Prohibition Bill will start a debate on personal law versus secular law.

Blind Spot on Marital Rape: In the Independent Thought v. Union of India (2017) case, the Supreme Court has upheld the marital rape of a minor wife. Husbands of adult women, on the other hand, can get blanket immunity against marital rape charges. This is a blind spot in the law that needs to be corrected if the legal age of marriage is extended.

Child marriage is illegal, but not banned in India: If a court finds that a minor has been forced into marriage by a parent or guardian, the provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Child Care and Protection) Act Applicable to the custody of a minor. Until he gets a majority and decides to get married.

Therefore, childhood marriage is not invalid. Marriage can be annulled by a court only if the minor party (minor woman / her relative) applies to the court. For example, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that the marriage of a minor will be considered valid if the person who was then a minor does not declare it invalid when he reaches the age of majority.

Arguments against raising the legal age of marriage for women?

Pushing a large section of the population towards illegal marriages: While 23% of marriages involve brides under the age of 18, far more marriages take place under the age of 21. 17.2 years from 2005-06 to 2015-16. But still, it's less than 21 years. Interstate Marriage Age: According to SRS 2018 data, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and Rajasthan were the worst in terms of effective marriage age. In West Bengal, 47.2% of women got married between the ages of 18-20.

Penalties do not bring about social change: for example, the age of marriage was set at 18 years in 1978, but early marriages began to decline in the 1990s. Therefore, laws can be forcibly repealed. Furthermore, not all underage marriages are prosecuted in India. For example, according to the National Crime Records Bureau, only 785 cases of child marriage prohibition were registered in 2020. The number was 523 in 2019 and 501 in 2018.

Negative Impact on Backward Communities: Experts note that 70% of underage marriages (between 18-20) occur in deprived communities such as Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Increasing legal age will make them lawless. For example, according to NFHS 4 (2015-16), the median age of first marriage for women aged 25-49 is higher than that of others (19.5 years), OBC (18.5), ST (18.4) and SC (SC). More in social categories. 18.1). More impact on rural women: According to SRS data, 37.4% of marriages took place between the ages of 18 and 20 in rural areas, compared to 23.2% in urban areas.

The decline in underage marriages depends on other factors: The decline in child marriages is not due to existing law but to an increase in girls' education and employment opportunities. A study by the International Centre for Research on Women found that out-of-school girls are 3.4 times more likely to be married or have arranged marriage than girls who are still in school.

Reduce Arbitrary Marriages: Nowadays, a growing number of young adult couples often choose arbitrary marriages across castes and communities without parental support. If passed, the bill would deprive him of that right until he turns 21.

Increased fetal mortality: The Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act, 2012, allows consensual sex at age 18 / later. This means that a person can have sex after the age of 18, but he cannot get married until the age of 21. This can lead to other problems such as feticide.

Child Marriage Prohibition Amendment Bill 2021: Key Points

1. In order to secure gender equality in the age of marriage of women and men in this bill, an attempt has been made to increase the age of marriage of women to 21 years. The bill states that "women are often placed in an unfavorable position in terms of higher education, vocational education, attainment of psychological maturity and skill sets. Maternal and child mortality due to increase in the age of marriage for women." It is also expected to reduce rates and improve nutrition and sex ratio.

2. The bill includes a grace period of two years from the date of receipt of presidential approval.

3. The amendment bill seeks to define "child" as "a man or woman who has not reached the age of 21".

4. It seeks to amend seven Personal Laws - Hindu Marriage Act, Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act and Foreign Marriage Act, Indian Christian Marriage Act, Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act and Special Marriage Act.

5. This bill also prohibits child marriage, regardless of any law, custom, usage or practice governing the parties. The Bill declares that the provisions of the Act shall have a profound effect on every other law, custom, use or practice governing the parties.

Conclusion

Women need to be empowered to bring about lasting change in any society and for that; The main weapons are skills and quality education. The government provides free schooling, access to better health care opportunities, nutritious food, courtyards in all government schools, transportation facilities, employment and career opportunities, women's campaigns through various campaigns and NGOs. And there is a need to focus on economic empowerment so that girls can be educated about pregnancy. Risks and birth control methods, stricter legal action on child marriages and the promotion of gender equality and gender neutrality require equality between men and women, and for this increasing age of marriage will provide women with social and financial benefits. There is a strong strategy for empowerment in the sector.