In spite of the fact that society and its rigid laws have stopped people, especially women, from making their own decisions about their life and the age at which they want to marry, marriages in India are nonetheless treated with great care and consideration. Up until 1823, a person had to be 21 years old to get married in the Victorian era. However, it was lowered to 14 for boys and 12 for girls after 1823. Child marriage was one of the social ills that existed in colonial India.
Girls were typically married off between the ages of 10 and 12 at this time. In 1978, India saw a significant transformation following its independence when the legal age of marriage was raised to 21 for men and 18 for women. The Indian government recently introduced a bill to raise the minimum age for marriage for women from 18 to 21 years old.
According to the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) 2019–21, 14.7% of women in urban areas and 27% of women in rural areas who are 20–24 years old were married before they reached 18. 3.8% (urban) and 7.9% (rural) of women aged 15 to 19 who were already mothers or expecting babies at the time of the survey (rural).
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA administration has now decided to raise the legal age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 in order to put them on an equal level with males.
IMPORTANCE OF LEGALIZATION:
A committee led by Jaya Jaitley was assembled by the Ministry for Women and Child Development in June 2020 to look at the connection between marriage and concerns with women's nutrition, newborn and maternal mortality, and other issues. The outcome recommended raising the marriageable age to 21.
Gender parity is an additional factor. The Special Marriage Act Section 4(c) specifies that the legal age for marriage for women is 18, while the age for men is 21, although there doesn't seem to be any justification for this difference. Since the voting age and the legal age to give your consent and sign a contract are both the same, the age to engage into a bond for life should also be the same. The Supreme Court ruled in the landmark case Independent Thought v. Union of India that it is critical to equalize the marriage age for men and women.
Another factor is gender parity. The Special Marriage Act Section 4(c) states that men and women must be at least 18 years old to get married, yet there doesn't seem to be any reason for this distinction. The age to enter into a bond for life should be the same as the voting age and the legal age to provide consent and sign a contract as these three requirements are all the same. It is crucial to equalize the marriage age for men and women, the Supreme Court concluded in the historic case Independent Thought v. Union of India.
ADVANTAGES:
- The main benefit is that this action will advance gender equality by making the legal marriage age the same for men and women, in accordance with article 14 of the Indian Constitution's guarantee of the right to equal treatment.
- Additionally, this action may put an end to the problem of adolescent marriages, in which 14 to 15-year-old females are married off after being misrepresented as being 18 or older. Even now, 23.3% of women in the country get married off before turning 18. Data shows that while the dropout rate for girls in grades one through five and six through eight is only 1.2% and 2.6%, respectively, it is a staggering 15.1% in grades nine and ten. Hopefully, this choice will have a good impact on the number of females who drop out of school.
- With a minimum marriage age of 21, a woman will be in a better position psychologically, physically, and financially to defend herself against pressure or mistreatment from her family for getting married too young or against her will.
As of right now, India's age for court marriages is the same, at 18 for females and 21. The age and criteria for court marriage is same in the whole of the India. For example, court marriage in Agra has the same criteria as court marriage in Indore. If the couple lives in Mumbai then also the criteria for court marriage in Mumbai is same as other states.
At Lead India, we offer a range of expertise and legal services. You can ask questions to experts online free here regarding criteria for court marriage. You can talk to a lawyer to get the best advice here. Our team of attorneys understands the ins and outs of the law, helping you make informed decisions. Our team of experts also provides free legal advice online.
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