"Women will only have true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation. The state controlling a woman would mean denying her full autonomy and full equality”.
– Former US Supreme Court Judge, Justice (Late) Ruth Bader Ginsburg in conversation with ABC News correspondent Lynn Sherr.[1]
The recent amendment bill proposed by the Minister of Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani, in this winter session of parliament, has brought the question of the welfare of women in India into limelight again. The bill named Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021[2] seeks to increase the minimum age of marriage for women from 18 years to 21 years by amending the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 (PCMA).[3] The Bill seeks to override all laws across faiths and has been referred to the standing committee.
Present law is not implemented properly
Guaranteeing gender quality, improving the mental and physical health of girls, and allowing them to continue their education are the three prominent reasons, among various other reasons, cited in the “Statement of Objects and Reasons” of this Bill. Equality of genders guaranteed by the Constitution of India can be a cogent reason for enacting this amendment. However, the likelihood of the achievement of the other two objects is negligible.
One of the reasons cited in favour of this amendment is that the 2006 law has not completely eradicated this highly pernicious practice of child marriage and there is an urgent need to tackle this issue by bringing reforms. Mrs. Irani stated that 7% of the girls aged between 15 and 18 years were found to be pregnant and nearly 23% of the girls were married below the age of 18 years[4]. However, the Bill fails to explain how the implementation of these reforms will solve this problem. The government seems to be in delusion that the amendment will cure the problem while present laws lack proper implementation. Therefore, the need of the hour is to implement the current law properly rather than enact a new amendment.
Direct benefit programme is the need
Another object cited by Mrs. Irani while introducing the Bill was to improve the nutritional status of the women and lower the maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate. However, the fact remains that the nutritional status of a woman is also correlated with the financial status of the household. According to the data of National Family Health Survey (NFHS), 2015-2016, 36% of women in the bottom 20% of households, in terms of wealth, are underweight as compared to 12% of women in the top 20%.[5] Women living in low-income households, with limited financial resources are more prone to be married before completing 18 years than women living in middle and high-income households. The 2015-2016 data provided by NFHS indicated that 25% of women in the age group of 20-24 years reported being married before turning 18 and most of them belonged to poor families.[6]
Thus, simply raising the legal age of marriage will not help in achieving the object. For instance, an anaemic woman will remain anaemic until she gets better health and nutrition. The age of marriage is no factor in the woman being anaemic. Therefore, giving better direct benefits would be a better step than enacting a new law. Government can introduce financial schemes which may involve direct bank transfers to the women belonging to low-income households to help them access better nutrition. Further, providing better medical facilities to such women would be another good step to aid this cause.
Giving access to education
Recently, a study conducted by the International Centre for Research on Women reveals that in a comparison between girls studying in school and girls out of school, it was found that the latter are 3.4 times more likely to be married or have their marriage fixed already by the age of 18 years.[7] Another report by State of the World report by the United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA) says that in India, “51% of young women with no education and 47% of those with a primary education had married by age 18, compared to 29% of young women with a secondary education and 4% with post-secondary education.” [8]
It is evident from different data provided by different organisations that the marriage of women before 18 years is mostly prevalent in downtrodden areas where poverty and illiteracy prevail. In such areas, it is a common notion that boys are meant to support the family financially by generating income, while girls are considered to be ‘parayadhan’ and a burden upon the family. Further, another belief held by people in such areas is that women with higher educational qualifications often find it difficult to find a husband. This is the reason why girls in such areas are denied their right to receive proper education. The State should focus on improving the socio-economic conditions of the marginalised communities in such areas and provide them with adequate educational opportunities. There is a need for proper discussion & deliberation before enacting the law to save poor families from untold hardships.
Conclusion
Increasing the minimum legal age of marriage for women will have several negative repercussions. Poor people would not want to have a girl child. The number of unwanted litigations would increase and will create another burden on families. Therefore, the need of the hour is to increase the access to education for women. Providing better education facilities and direct benefits to the girl child would be a good step in this direction. Direct money transfer to the bank accounts for spending on education and learning new skills would be a better approach. Hence, the government must take up the responsibility of empowering women rather than shrugging off their shoulders by simply raising the legal age of marriage without addressing other concerns associated with it.
[1]Kathleen Sullivan, Constitutionalizing Women’s Equality: The Ruth Bader Ginsburg distinguished Lecture on women and the law, Vol. 56 No.1 (2001), https://www2.nycbar.org/Publications/record/winter01.1.pdf. [2]The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021, Bill no. 163, Acts of Parliament, 2021 (India). [3]The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, No.6, Acts of Parliament, 2007 (India). [4]Ambika Pandit,Bill To Up Girls’ Marriage Age In Lok Sabha, To Be Sent To Parliament Committee, The Times Of India, (Dec. 21 , 2021 , 1:23 AM),https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/bill-to-up-girls-marriage-age-in-lok-sabha-to-be-sent-to-parliament-committee/articleshow/88420251.cms. [5]Ministry of health and family welfare, National Family Health Survey, (2015-2016), https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR339/FR339.pdf . [6]Ibid [7]Esha Roy, Explained: Why raise legal age of marriage for women, or why not, The Indian Express, (December 17, 2021, 2:15 PM), https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/why-raise-legal-age-of-marriage-for-women-or-why-not-7676737/. [8]United Nations Population Funds, State Of World Population 2021: My Body is My Own - Claiming the Right to Autonomy and Self-Determination, (United Nations 2021), https://www.un-ilibrary.org/content/books/9789216040178
This article is authored by Kumar Kanishk Sinha, a student of Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar.
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