Panel to review age of marriage for women in India

Introduction

The age of marriage is an important factor that can improve maternal and child health outcomes. The government is veering towards the same age for men and women, consultations for which are taking place among the relevant ministries.

The task force is likely to have officials from different ministries, along with experts of law, gender and health. Experts said there is evidence that girls who marry before the age of 18 are more likely to experience unwanted pregnancies, are vulnerable to health related problems and the child born out of such pregnancy is prone to diseases.

Women’s age of marriage was increased from 15 years to 18 years in 1978, by amending Sharda Act of 1929. At that time, many questions and debates were raised, but as India progresses further, opportunities open up for women to pursue higher education and careers.

A health ministry official said: “It has always advocated spacing of three years between age of marriage and pregnancy. It has been observed in multiple cases that mothers bearing a child at an early age ended up in complications, both for the mother and the child.”

Even as India has become the country with the largest number of child brides in the world, it sets up a 10-member task force to determine the right age for women to marry and become mothers.

Headed by Jaya Jaitly, an Indian politician and social activist, the task force which will also examine the correlation between the age of marriage and motherhood will submit its report by July 31, 2020.

There are fears that circumstances triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic hitting economies of people will drive many families, especially in rural India to marry off their daughters early, due to low cost on wedding ceremonies. It is likely that we are going to see large numbers of child marriages this year and this could undo decades of hard work put in to reduce child marriages.

It said that COVID-19 would also increase the pre-existing risks of gender-based violence against girls, like domestic violence and marital rapes.

India is a layered society with different mindsets. While the poverty-stricken, oppressed people tries to marry off their daughters before the age of 18, the urban women population looks at more possibilities in terms of higher education and career.

A common debate that India can face is about the voting rights that are given at the age of 18 to its citizen. It was reduced from 21 to 18 in 1988. But the task force and the ministry is ready to handle it.

Implementation  is the biggest challenge

Admittedly, the biggest challenge would be to develop an implementation mechanism for the new proposed law, and the help from local police, doctors, and community heads would be necessary in the new law.

A report released by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights in 2018 had found linkages between child marriages and poverty. “It is evident from the findings that a girl from a poor family is more likely to getting married at a younger age than a girl from a wealthier family,” the report said. The backward class wants their daughters to get married before they hit puberty.

Early marriages have often shattered the aspirations and dreams of many women. Families don’t understand the ambitions of a girl and still think they only belong to kitchen and doing household chores.

Staggering numbers

While the prevalence of girls getting married before the age of 18 has declined from 47% as recorded in 2005 to 27% in 2016, the numbers are still very high.

According to the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation, the average age at which women are married in rural areas is 21, while it stands at 23 in urban areas.

According to a survey, conducted by global agency UNICEF in 2017, as many as 27% of girls in India are married off before the age of 18. The survey further shows that at least 1.5 million girls under the age of 18 are married in India every year.

Conclusion

The initiative to change the law taken up by the government shows that India is ready for a more progressive approach towards women. Women have dreams and goals too in their life and wants to fly high in their life. The new law will help in achieving their goals to some extent and will also improve the mortality rate of India. Now, when there is a wave of feminism and gender equality, this step will only prove beneficial and progressive. I know there is still a long way ahead to go, because we have to change the mindset of people also, along with the laws. But even a small step can bring enormous and effective changes.