REVISION OF MINIMUM AGE TO MARRY – AN ANALYSIS OF THE YEAR 2020
INTRODUCTION
Marriage at a small age is illegal, for which there is a provision for a sentence of two years of prison and a fine of one lakh rupees, according to the Child Marriage Prevention Act 2006. A woman’s life has also been the victim of age discrimination regarding marriage and has been struggling against this bigotry in society. In 1978, women’s age of marriage was increased from 15 to 18 years by amending The Sharda Act of 1929. In India now, the minimum legal age of marriage for men is 21 years, and for women is 18 years respectively, recommended by the amendment of The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 in 1978. Similarly, it is recommended by The Special Marriage Act, 1954, and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.
REVISING AGE OF MARRIAGE
To put an end to the age discrimination, on the 75th anniversary of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), while addressing a video conference after releasing a commemorative coin of Rs 75 denomination, Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, ” Government will soon decide on revising the age of marriage for daughters after it receives a report from the committee set up for this”. He also emphasized that for the first time in the country girls’ gross enrollment ratio in education has turned higher than that of boys because of various actions brought by the central government in the last six years.
WHAT IS THE REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE MENTIONED IN SPEECH OF PRIME MINISTER?
A task force has been set up to re-examine the correlation between the age of marriage and motherhood by the Union Ministry for Women and Child Development on June 2, 2020. It is headed by former Samata Party president Jaya Jaitly and will have among member center Paul, Member of Health, NITI Ayog. The Secretaries of Health, Women and Child Development, Law, and School Education are the members of this task force. Najma Akhtar (New Delhi), Vasudha Kamath (Maharashtra), and Dipti Shah (Gujarat) are three independent members.
The task force will examine the correlation of the age of marriage and motherhood with
(i) Health, medical well-being, and nutritional status of the mother and neonate, infant or child, during pregnancy, birth, and thereafter.
(ii)key parameters like Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), Total Fertility Rate (TFR), Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB), and Child Sex Ratio (CSR).
(iii) Any points regarding health and nutrition.
CONCLUSION
There is no reasoning in law for having different ages of marriage for men and women. Now, there have been many controversies in favor of enhancing the minimum age of marriage of women. As per the report released by the UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund), even though child marriages are banned in the entire world, however, they happen 33,000 times a day across the world. During the worldwide lockdown, in India, due to lack of funds to provide education, several poor families married off minor children, especially girls. The legal age of marriage based on gender violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Indian constitution which promised the right to live with dignity and the right to equality. In the eye of the law, everyone is equal. India will be the largest home for child brides as there are at least 1.5 million minor girls who are married in the world according to the estimation of UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund). Experts also suggested increasing the minimum age of marriage of girls from 18 years to 21 years.
Submitted by:
Charishma KS
Student Reporter, INBA.