Raising
the Age of Matrimony for Girls Is a Step That Needs Complete Implementation
Females
from all over the nation have argued for the necessity of raising the
marriageable age of girls in India from the current 18 years to 21 years in a
series of webinars and in-person meetings dubbed Lado Panchayat, organised by
the Selfie With Daughter Foundation.
The
first online Lado Panchayat was conducted on July 18, 2021, as a result of the
Selfie With Daughter Foundation's initiative, an NGO that works on gender
issues. The Panchayat was attended by 90 girls from Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat,
Rajasthan, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh. This was the first occasion that village
girls had been brought together.
They
want that the law governing girls' marriageable ages be changed. These sessions
have as their goal the creation of a report that will be presented as a
proposal to the Prime Minister's office and the Union Ministry of Women and
Child Welfare. The research will concentrate on the numerous issues related to
raising the legal age of marriage for girls to 21.
The
meeting's organisers note that the majority of the girls in attendance were
married at younger ages, which has had an effect on their schooling. According
to a member of the NGO, there have been instances when parents have allegedly
fabricated birth certificates for their daughters so that they would appear to
be of legal marriageable age and be eligible for marriage. Participants have
argued that there should be certain fundamental educational requirements that
girls must meet in order to be eligible for marriage under the law.
An
effort by the government to reduce maternal mortality and assure nutrition
In
his Independence Day speech on August 15, 2020, Prime Minister Narendra Modi
stated that the government will think about raising the marriageable age for
girls to 21 years. A task team was then established under the direction of
former Samata Party leader Jaya Jaitly and NITI Aayog member V.K. Paul. The
team has sent a report to the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) and
the Prime Minister's Office.
The
research recommends raising the legal age for girls to get married from 18 to
21, but it recommends doing so gradually to give states time to implement it
fully and effectively.
Maternal
mortality rates are mostly to blame for the re-examination of the marriageable
age for females. The action aims to enhance women's nutrition levels and ensure
fewer maternal mortality. According to the task force's recommendations, a
woman should be 21 years old when she gives birth to her first child. Delaying
marriage also implies putting a cap on the number of pregnancies and the age at
which children are born.
In
their paper, they also state that raising the age of marriage for girls will
benefit families' financial and social well-being.
A
positive move, but other issues need to be resolved
Many
people have welcomed the decision to raise the age at which females can get
married, while others have voiced opposition. The fact that the effort will affect
and lower the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) while also boosting female
nutrition is one of the main arguments put up by those who favour it.
Malnutrition,
and maternal and infant mortality are all associated with early marriage and
the early pregnancies it causes. Additionally, it is believed that raising the
marriageable age will allow girls the chance to finish their education and
pursue employment before getting hitched.
The
promise of equality under the Constitution for both men and women is cited as a
further argument in favour of the action. Assuming that women "mature
earlier" is patriarchal and discriminatory. The ability to reproduce does
not establish eligibility for marriage, and it is patriarchal and proprietary
to view women only as bodies capable of reproducing.
On
the other hand, other people contend that the ageing population will have
little impact. Madhu Mehra, the co-founder of the National Coalition for
Advocating for Adolescent Concerns and executive director of Partners for Law
in Development India, speaks on the topic of the legal age of marriage for
women in an interview with The Hindu.
Mehra
emphasises that if the marriageable age is raised, girls won't have any control
over their lives. The Dalit and Adivasi populations will be disproportionately
impacted by raising the marriage age, according to an article in the Indian
Express.
It
emphasises that girls between the ages of 14 and 18 are not covered by the
Right to Education Act if the right to free and compulsory education is not
raised to the age of 18. (RTE). According to data, rural women typically marry
earlier than urban women, and women's socioeconomic status has an effect on how
long marriages last. Higher caste/class and educated women can afford to wait
till later in life to get married.
The
proposed revision to the law regarding the marriageable age should therefore
take into account these castes- and gender-based disparities and how they
affect females. While maternal mortality and health issues must be addressed,
statistics also show that women are less likely to marry young when they have
greater education levels.
Therefore,
it is advised that the Right to Education Act be changed to ensure that girls
from all socioeconomic groups benefit from the increased marriageable age.
Education,
public awareness, and full implementation
For
girls, getting an education empowers them to avoid getting married young. Even
though free education is available thanks to the RTE, parents of lower-income
households frequently do not see a financial gain from sending their daughters
to school. Most families struggle financially to pay for post-secondary
education.
There
have reportedly been more child weddings recently as a result of the Covid-19
lockdowns. In order to combat this during the lockdown, it has become more
challenging for females to access the necessary legal and other support,
according to UNICEF (United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund).
Girls
are married off young to lessen financial obligations due to the loss of work
caused by the pandemic, bad economic conditions for low-income families, and
other factors. There have been calls for making the appropriate policy changes
so that females can continue their education both online and offline because
many people cannot afford the devices needed for online learning.
Along
with awareness campaigns to educate families about the health hazards and other
negative impacts of early marriage and the advantages of delayed marriage,
assistance for households to cope with poverty should also be provided.
Therefore,
while we applaud the government's decision to rethink the minimum age at which
girls can get married, it is also vital that we address financial and
caste-based inequality, education, and social awareness to fully ensure that
the policy accomplishes its intended purposes.