As the Lok Sabha sent the proposed law on Tuesday Raising the age of marriage for women to 21 Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani told a standing committee that it will ensure uniformity among all religions and communities.
“The age of marriage should apply equally to all religions, castes, creeds, should prevail over any custom or law that discriminates against women,” Ms Irani said while introducing the Prohibition of Child Marriage Amendment Bill, 2021 in public Said happened. Meeting.
“We have come 75 years late in providing equal rights to men and women to enter into marriage in our democracy. In the 19th century, the age of marriage for girls was 10 years. In 1940 it was increased from 12 to 14. In 1978, girls could be married at the age of 15. Today for the first time both men and women can decide to marry at the age of 21 on the basis of equality. According to research, we have prevented 20 lakh child marriages from 2015 to 2020. NFHS-5 figures show that around 7 per cent of girls aged 15 to 18 years are found to be pregnant and 23 per cent of girls below 18 years are married, although the law does not permit this.
He said the bill would also amend the Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1972, the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936, the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937, the Special Marriage Act, 1954, the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 and the Foreign Marriage Act. , 1956.
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Several MPs from Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) ) demanded more inquiry and urged that the Bill be referred to the Standing Committee.
ET Mohd Bashir of IUML urged that the bill be withdrawn as it is unwanted, unconstitutional and violative of Article 25 of the Constitution. This bill will have far-reaching consequences in the country. This is an attack on personal laws and fundamental rights in the country.”
AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi said the bill was regressive and questioned why marriage age for girls is being raised to 21, when 18-year-olds can choose PM, be in live-in [relationship] and have sex under POCSO”. He also sought to draw the attention of the House to the poor employment rate of women in the country and said that the female labor force participation (FLPR) rate in India was lower than that of Somalia.
The minister introduced the bill amid protests by opposition MPs in the Well of the House demanding the dismissal of Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra ‘Theni’ in the Lakhimpur Kheri murder case.
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