Age Of Marriage Changed for Women? (Across all religions)
Tejashree anant salvi
INTRODUCTION
We will talk about the Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill 2021 in this article. According to the law on the marriage of children, the legal age of marriage for women is 18 and for men, it is 21, although different religions have different age standards for marriage depending on their rituals. For example, according to Muslim personal law, the legal age of marriage for men is 15 years after puberty for women. However, Hindu law states that a man must be 21 and a woman must be 18 to get married, according to the old law against child marriage, however, in 2021, the government passed a new bill raising the marriage age for women from 18 to 21, which will apply to all communities across the country and, once adopted, will override existing marriage and personal regulations. The bill, which requires revisions to the 2006 law and was presented to Lok Sabha on Tuesday from Smriti Irani, Union Minister for Women and Child Development, was submitted to a Parliamentary Standing Committee for further consideration. The proposed legislation, according to Smriti Irani, is secular. "Under the Hindu Marriage Act or the Muslim Personal Law, all women of all faiths should have equal rights to marry," she stated.
CHILD MARRIAGE PROHIBITION ACT 2006
In 1978, the Child Marriage Restraint Act was revised, raising the legal age of marriage for girls from 15 to 18 years and for boys from 18 to 21 years. To ensure that child marriage is abolished from society, the Indian government adopted the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act of 2006, which replaced the old legislation of the Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929. The Act's main goal is to make it illegal to marry children under the age of 18. This Act includes provisions that make it easier to prevent child marriages, offer relief to victims, and increase penalties for those who aid, promote, or solemnize such unions. According to the act, the legal age of marriage for boys is 21, and for girls it is 18, and any marriage between people under these ages is considered child marriage, which is illegal, and punishable by law. It pertains to all citizens of India, regardless of faith, and extends beyond the borders of the country. This Act exempts the state of Jammu and Kashmir from its provisions, as well as the Union Territory of Pondicherry.
Why has the government decided to review the age of marriage?
The Government of Narendra Modi has chosen to revise the age of marriage for women for a number of reasons, including gender neutrality. Early marriage and, therefore, teenage pregnancies impact nutritional levels, as well as the overall health and emotional well-being of mothers and babies. It also has an impact on infant and maternal mortality rates, as well as the empowerment of women who are denied access to education and a livelihood owing to early marriage. According to the just released National Family Health Survey (NFHS), child marriage
has slightly increased. Country, from 27% in 2015-16 to 23% in 2019-20, but the government is working to lower it even more.
Child marriage prohibition (Amendments) bill 2021
Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Act 2021 will apply to all communities in the country and, when enacted, will replace existing marriage and personal laws. The proposed legislation, according to Union Minister Smriti Irani, is secular. In subsection (2) of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 (hereinafter referred to as the Primary Act), after the words “citizens of India without India, "words, numbers and parentheses" despite everything against or incompatible with the main act ", according to the bill contained therein in Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872; the Parsi law on marriage and divorce, 1936; the application of Muslim personal law (Shariat)Act, 1937; the Special Marriage Act, 1954; the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955; and the Foreign Marriage Act, 1969, or any other Custom or use or practice Compared to marriage, under the other law for the current moment "must be", "involves a person or a woman who does not in their twenties, "according to the proposal. The Bill's Statement of Purposes and Reasons states: “measure for women's empowerment, gender equality, increasing female labor force participation, making them self-reliant, and enabling them to make their own decisions, the Bill, inter alia, proposes to-
1. To bring women up to par with men in terms of marriageable age;
2. Prohibit early marriage regardless of any law, custom, custom, or practice governing the parties in the marriage;
3. amend the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, to strengthen its application overriding all other existing laws, including any custom, usage, or practice governing the parties in relation to marriage;
4. declare that the provisions of the Act take precedence over any other law, usual, use or practice governing the parties; make consequential amendments to other marriage laws; and
6. Make the amendments effective two years from the date the Bill receives the President's consent according to the age of marriage, in order to provide sufficient opportunities for all in our collective efforts and inclusive growth, and to make other provisions effective immediately.
CONCLUSION
Child marriage has always been a major issue in our society. Prior to the independence period, child marriage was a common ritual in society, but child marriage is now considered wrong or unhealthy by medical standards. In order to prevent child marriage in India, the government passed the Child Marriage Prohibition Act. The Child Protection (Amendments) Bill 2021 provides
equality for marriage age for both men and women. The Amendments provide 21 years for both, increasing the marriage age for women and providing more beneficiaries. In recent years, India has reduced child marriage rates, but that decision also helped to reduce child marriage rates and provide more time for educating women. This bill aids in avoiding child pregnancy and assisting women to become more independent and equal in society in all ways financially, socially, and health-wise.
REFERENCE
1. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/bill-to-increase-marriage-age-of-women-to-21-yrs-to-be-sent-to-house-panel-smriti-irani-7684161/
Bill to raise marriage age of women seeks to override laws across faith, sent to panel
2. https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/centres-bill-seeks-raise-age-of-marriage-for-women-as-21-years-188162
Explained: How Centre's Bill Seeks To Raise Age of Marriage for Women as 21 Years Uniformly Across All Religions