By Noorbeena Rasheed siyasat net
There are apprehension s that the central government will soon take a decision on raising the marriage age for girls. On June 09, the Central Government had appointed a ten member task force committee headed by Jaya Jaitley to report on the matter relating to women, such as marriage, motherhood, health and nutrition. In his 74th Independence Day address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that the decision on the age of marriage for girls would be taken as soon as the report was received from the committee.
The question that arises here is whether or not to raise the age of marriage. Women make up more than half of the Indian population. One thing about them is that changes are going to happen without significant discussion or an impeccable study. It should be noted that we are discussing raising the age of marriage women when many countries have reduced the age of marriage from 21 to 18. In a country like the United States, the previous age of marriage was 21 years. Now it has come to 18 years. Many countries have made it legal for women under the age of 18 to marry with the consent of their parents and with judicial approval.
India has a culture and a heritage. All religions emphasize moral values. Raising the age of marriage for girls will do more harm than good to the country. Marriage is a biological need. Social justice can only be maintained when we make it legal. Living in relationship will come with raising the age of marriage. This will eliminate the next generation of legitimacy. In anticipation of all this, it is necessary to find a solution to such issues within the existing law.
Women are becoming mature of age earlier than ever before. Marriage is meant to provide a legal protection for a man woman relationship. Those who want to get married earlier and parents who want to get them married should not be hindered by the new law. In India, an 18-year-old citizen is given the right to vote on the basis of a finding that a person of that age has the maturity and ability to think.
Secular India gives people of different religions the right to practice their religion and live and die. Part of it is that family law exists for people of each religion in matters of marriage, property, adoption, and inheritance. Under the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929, the age of marriage for girls was 15 and for boys it was 18. Later, in 1978, the earlier law was amended to raise the age of marriage for girls to 18 and 21 for men. The new law passed by the Indian Parliament in 2006 repealing the earlier law gives a precise definition of child marriage. There are provisions in the law to give severe punishment to those who engage in child marriage and even those who participate in it. Unlike previous laws, the law provides for two years’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh for child marriage.
One reason Claimed for raising the age of marriage is that 30 per cent of girls in India get married before the age of 18. Even if this is the case, those involved have failed to make effective use of the existing legal system in India. The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act of 2006 itself contains provisions to prevent marriages before the age of 18 and to ensure severe punishment for violators. Amending the law without properly utilizing the existing law will not benefitial to the country and women. There for IUWL appealed to the Prime Minister to retain the age limit for women as 18.
