NEW DELHI, Dec 16: The Union Cabinet has cleared a proposal raising the legal age of marriage for women from 18 years to 21 years, bringing it at par with that of men, media reports have said.
The cabinet’s nod on December 15 came more than a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned the plan in his 2020 Independence Day speech.
At present, the legal age of marriage for girls is 18.
The move is in accordance with the recommendations made to Niti Aayog in December 2020 by a government task force headed by Jaya Jaitly. The committee was to examine “matters pertaining to the age of motherhood, imperatives of lowering MMR (maternal mortality rate), improvement of nutritional levels and related issues”, a media report said.
The government will now look to introduce amendments to the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, Special Marriage Act and other personal laws such as the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, among other legislations, report said.
The recommendations were derived after extensive consultations with experts, young women and individuals, with the task force comprising secretaries of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, health and education and legislative departments, the report said.
The feedback the task force got from 16 universities and 15 NGOs, which engaged with young adults directly impacted by this decision, was that the marriage age should range between 22 and 23 years.
The task force also recommended a comprehensive public awareness campaign, access to schools and universities for girls, formalised sex education in school curriculum along with training and livelihood enhancement practices in institutions.
Setting the stage for the task force, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said in her 2020-21 budget speech, “As India progresses further, opportunities open up for women to pursue higher education and careers. The entire issue about the age of a girl entering motherhood needs to be seen in this light.”
