"Women, if the soul of the nation is to be saved, I believe you must become its soul." - Coretta Scoot King.

In his Independence Day speech last year, the PM said, "To end malnutrition among girls, to assess what should be the age of marriage, we have set up a committee". 

The Union Government has approved a bill to raise the minimum age for women to marry from 18 to 21 years old. Since 1978, the minimum age has been unchanged. The proposal was proposed by Jaya Jaitley in NITI Aayog.

The task group was formed in June 2020 and submitted its report in December 2020. According to the task force, women should be 21 years old when they give birth to their first kid. This bill shall become effective two years from the date it receives presidential assent.

PM Modi addressing a rally in Prayagraj said, "We are trying to increase the age of marriage of women to 21 years so that they can have time to study and progress. The country is taking this decision for its daughters. Everyone is seeing who is having problems with this...it has caused pain to some,". 

"In a democracy, we are 75 years late in providing equal rights to men and women to enter into matrimony," said Smriti Irani. 

She also quoted, "imperatives for lowering maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate, as well as improvement of nutrition levels and sex ratio at birth, as these would promote possibilities of responsible parenthood for both father and mother, making them more capable of taking better care of their children". 

The Modi government has stated that young women should be developed holistically and healthily. It attempts to prevent early pregnancy and thereby protect women's health by raising the age of marriage for women to 21 years old.

Irani said that 7% of the girls aged between 15 and 18 years were found pregnant and nearly 23% of the girls were married below the age of 18 years.

The NFHS 5 (2019-21) reports 23% of the girls in the 20-24 group were married under 18. A steep fall from the aviated number of 43% in 2005-06, NFHS 4 data shows 63% of the girls below 21 have been married.

This idea appears to be effective and egalitarian, but some argue that it is damaging because it does not address the true cause of early marriage.

 Population Foundation of India, an NGO working in the field of women's reproductive rights, for instance, said that increasing women's age of marriage is like "treating symptoms instead of the cause".

Shashi Tharoor was asked on his viewpoint for the Child Marriage Amendment Act, "There is a perception on the part of some minority groups that this is simply a way of bypassing personal laws. A second one is a concern of feminist organizations. Third, there is a concern that once you make any marriage under 21 illegal, you may be depriving girls forced into underage marriages of their legal rights upon divorce or abandonment". 

"At 18 years, a girl can choose prime minister, have a live-in relationship, have sexual relations, but you are denying her the right to marriage," Owaisi said.

The proposed law will apply to all communities across the country and, once passed, will supersede existing marriage and personal laws. It will also seek to amend seven personal laws-

 Indian Christian Marriage Act; The Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act; The Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act under which minor who has attained puberty (15 years) is valid; The Special Marriage Act; The Hindu Marriage Act; The Foreign Marriage Act.

Opposition parties launched a backlash against the central government, with the Congress questioning the bill's motivations, the Left rejecting it because it impinged on women's autonomy, and Muslim parties accusing it of undermining Muslim laws. 

Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR) opposes the Act saying " "This implies that someone may have sexual act after 18 but won't be able to marry till 21 which will create new sets of issues like increasing unwed mothers and foeticide thereafter,". 

"This is not just about personal laws but also looking at what benefits women. The biggest requirement in India is the safety and security of women. And when a girl has to be kept at home, her safety becomes the responsibility of the parents, which is why she is often married off. When women and men are given the right to vote at 18 years, they can take any decision independently when they reach adulthood. How can the Government stop them from getting married?'' said Niaz Ahmad Farooqui, general secretary, Jamiat-Ulama-i-Hind, and AIMPLB member.

"It isn't like before when girls would have to get married young. Very rarely do girls get married before they turn 21-22 years. So in that sense, there is no problem with the increase in marriage age for women. However, the Government should still carry out extensive consultations with community leaders before passing the law,'' the Imam said.

According to newly revealed official statistics on married Indian women, 31.3 percent of Hindu women and 30.6 percent of Muslim women were 17 or younger when they married. According to the Home Ministry statistics, 6% of Hindu women and 5% of Muslim women were married before they became ten years old.

MP Sushmita Dev ( Trinamool Congress) is the only female member of the committee working with 30 men to review the bill. "I am the only female member in the Standing Committee which would be looking into the bill, but I will try my best to ensure that the Chairman of the Committee listens to every voice across the board," Sushmita Dev said. She did say that she wishes for more female members. 

Reasons for Early Marriage- 

Poverty; Insecurity; Political and financial reasons; Lack of education; Patriarchy and gender inequalities; Inadequate implementation of the law.

How to eradicate child Marriage?

1. Educating girls- Education is important in postponing marriage and making a girl more capable of making decisions.

2. Empowering Girls- When girls are strong and confident, armed with information and abilities, they can stand up to injustice and say "NO."

3. Providing girls and their families with income opportunities.

4. Petitioning Government and encouraging supportive laws.

5. Normalizing sexual health and promoting sexual health services.

How can you help?

Report any child marriage happening around your area to proper authorities, nearest panchayat, closest police station, a charity that works for children, or your local leaders, representatives or MLAs.

Educate your family and friends about the dangers and illegality of child marriage.

Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929-

Passed on September 28, 1929, the Imperial Legislative Council of India, fixed the age of marriage for girls at 14 years and boys at 18 years. Applicable to the whole nation except Jammu and Kashmir, if a marriage occurs between a boy who is aged between 18-21 years and a girl below the age of 18 years, it implies imprisonment up to 15 days along with a fine of one thousand rupees.

In 1949, after India's independence, it was amended to 15 for girls, and in 1978 to 18 for girls and 21 for boys.

Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006- 

A child is a person below the age of 21 for a man and 18 for a woman. Annulling a child marriage by the decree of nullity may be filed in the district court only by a contracting party to the marriage who was a child at the time of the marriage.

The male contracting party to such marriage is a minor, his parent or guardian to pay maintenance to the female contracting party to the marriage until her remarriage, the amount shall be determined by the district court and is to be paid in a lump sum or monthly.

Punishment for male adult marrying a child- two years imprisonment, liable to pay fine extended to one lack rupees or both (unless he proves the reasons to believe that the marriage was not a child marriage). Any member promoting and solemnizing child marriage shall be punished with 2 years imprisonment and a fine extending up to 1 lack rupees. 

Smriti Irani was asked in an interview on the critism that the bill proposes to criminalise a large section of marriages, to which she rescinded, "I think that it is one of the greatest rumors spread. Those who seek to disenfranchise women with regards to the right of equality are those who are propagating falsehood.....The fact that after 75 years of independence, women and men did not get to enter matrimony at the same age, is a matter of deep regret."

BIBLIOGRAPHY-  

[https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/under-age-marriage-policing-no-answer-7679562/lite/,https://theprint.in/india/modi-govt-introduces-bill-to-increase-womens-marriage-age-to-21-years-in-lok-sabha/785232/, https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/child-marriage-india-1293581-2018-07-23, https://legislative.gov.in/sites/default/files/A2007-06.pdf, https://www.unicef.org/india/stories/unicef-guide-what-can-i-do-help-stop-child-marriage]