Theme:
- The government of India decided to increase the minimum legal age of marriage for girls from 18 to 21 years.
Background:
- At present, the minimum legal age of marriage for girls is 18 years and for boys, it’s 21 years.
- The bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on 21st December 2021. But after protests from the opposition, it was sent to the parliamentary panel for further analysis.
- Once it becomes a law, it will override all the religious personal laws. So, the legal age of marriage will be increased for all females irrespective of their religion.
- In 1978, the Indian government increased the minimum legal age for marriage for girls from 15 to 18 years, and for boys from 18 to 21 years.
Pros:
- At present, many girls are forced to drop out of studies for marriage. So, making the minimum legal age for marriage as 21 will allow them to continue their studies. Thereby, many more women will go for higher education.
- Teenage pregnancies increase the risk of high blood pressure, anaemia and several other health problems. It can also lead to the death of the mother due to pregnancy complications. So, raising the age of marriage for girls can reduce the chance of maternal mortality.
- Early marriages result in several mental health issues in many girls. So, this move can eliminate this problem.
- This move can be stated as a step towards gender neutrality because it will make the minimum legal age for marriage the same for both girls and boys.
- As several girls are being married at 18 years, they are not having financial independence. This is resulting in the dependence of their husbands for survival. The dependence will force them to stay in the relationship even if it is abusive. So, raising the minimum legal age for marriage can empower women and can help them in achieving financial independence before marriage.
Cons:
- At present, child marriages are happening throughout India even after having ‘The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006’. As per the National Family Health Survey (2019-2021), 1/4th of the women aged 20-24 years were married before attaining the age of 18 years. After the pandemic, the number of child marriages increased significantly. So, the problem lies in the implementation. Hence the law alone cannot bring a change in society without the proper implementation. Root causes should be addressed before bringing a law.
- Several girls are being forced into marriages due to the patriarchal mindset of their families. Until now, many girls of such families rebelled against such forced marriages and married the person of their choice after attaining 18 years with the help of legal support. But now, they have to wait till attaining 21 years. This will be misused by patriarchal families to threaten and control them.
- The age of 18 years is considered a legal adult in India. They have voting rights too. But not giving them the right to marry the partner of their choice may work against their rights. In 2018, the Law Commission recommended lowering the minimum legal age of men from 21 to 18 years and suggested keeping both the genders’ minimum legal age for marriage as 18 years.
- As per the government data of 2017, the average age of marriage for women is increased to 22.1 years. So, the change is voluntary. The change was mainly due to the improving education among women. In general, women of urban areas have an advantage over women of rural areas. So, the solution lies in encouraging education for girls, conducting awareness programs on the importance of education, financial independence and the consequences of teenage pregnancies should be conducted instead of passing a law to bring a real change in society. In general, girls of poor families are forced into child marriages. So, providing financial support for girls to continue their studies can voluntarily raise the legal age of marriage.
Conclusion:
Raising the minimum legal age for marriage for girls is a good move. But a mere law cannot bring change in society. Widespread awareness programs on the importance of girls’ education, raising the legal age for marriage should be conducted. The government should increase its spending on education and healthcare. Moreover, the girls’ right to the life of their choice after becoming a legal adult at 18 years should be protected.
Your Turn…
Do you think raising the age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years is a good move? Express your thoughts through the comment section below. And subscribe to our blog to read answers to the trending GD topics.
Image by MagicalBrushes from Pixabay
References:
- Age and marriage: On raising the age of marriage for women
- Opinion: Centre’s Hypocrisy In Raising Marrying Age For Women To 21
Copyright @ Group Discussion Ideas.
Implementation of this act could be good one. To increasing the woman’s Education Government has to provide nearby colleges in remote villages and also should improve the Scholarship percentage.It will be more helpful them to higher Education.
Very nice article 👍
Thank you Sharanya.
It’s a good move it helps women to express themself as per literacy rate rural women’s are not much aware socially or economically we should encourage them and mostly rural people scared to send their daughter far for higher education they thinks that if some mishappening will occur with them how they will deal with it so the government should also give them self-defence classes from the starting stage so they can protect themself ..not only marriage age make women empower we should take more steps for them.
Undoubtedly is one of the best moves of the Indian government. But in my personal opinion, the government should give some time to the people to feel comfortable with this law.
Government should draw some timeline for adapting people to this law.
Until the government should spread mass awareness.
Otherwise, mass protests may occur.
I think it is good intiative by the government. As we see the dowry problems arises in many of the families. In my opinion I think if women get well educated and start earning and stand on her feet. Then the chances of asking dowry from the bride decreases.. As the girl is earning.
it is a good initiative, as women didn’t have to worry about their marriages just after higher education instead they can focus now on to enhance their carriers or passion and eventually they can contribute to their families economically. since passing laws is not the end of this problem ,government has to make sure that it get implemented to ground level also.
I think now it is good to start with this initiative but if you want to give real right to freedom to women then the government needs to think how they will give equal rights. If you look at western countries, how men and women are of the same age for marriage. And I think it is more helpful for the development of women as well as society and country.
Sometimes parents have more number of girl child and they have the pressure of their marriages, increasing in the age limit for marriages will give them some more years to gather that amount for marriages and even the girls will get more time to get involved in other activities.
We can also talk about contributions of woman to the economy. If the legal age of marriage increases, females will get more to exposure their career and education. Because of that woman will get employed and it will help to increase per capita income and GDP growth.
But the females from rural are they don’t have good opportunities and facilities for they education and career. For that government should take initiatives.
Yes it should be increase from 18 to 21 years. It will a contribution in girl’s education and making them independent for their lives.