Table of Contents
Introduction
Legal Age of Marriage in India – The concept of age of consent was introduced through the Hindu Marriage Act, of 1955.
As per Section 5 (iii) of the Act, the boy should have completed 21 years, while the bride should have completed the age of 18 years at the time of marriage. Even the conditions related to the solemnization of special marriages under Section 4 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 lay the same age of consent for marriage in India. The Child Marriage Restraint Act (1929) and even the latest Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 prohibit marriage before the age of maturity.
The legal age for marriage in India is being proposed to be amended, increasing the marriage age for girls in India in 2022 from 18 to 21 years. However, the amendments are yet to be passed by the parliament and come into effect.
Marriage Age-Girls in India
In most of the personal laws and the Special Marriage Act, of 1954, women’s legal age of marriage in India is barred to 18 and above. However, in the case of Muslims, attaining the age of puberty is the indicator of a marriage contract. Usually, girls above the age of 15 years are said to have attained the legal age of marriage in India.
Recently, the marriage age for girls in India in 2022 is being proposed to be increased to 21 years. However, the events of child marriage as per data reveal the societal mindset heading towards the contrary.
Marriage Age- Boys in India
The law of the land holds the husband responsible for the maintenance of a wife. That is the reason why the legal age of marriage in India for males is higher than that of females. In the usual scenario, a male should have crossed the age of 21 years in order to get married as per the marriage law. The legal age for marriage among Muslim men is said to be marked with attaining puberty.
Advantages of an Increase of Marriage Age
This move of an increase in marriage age is a one step forward towards gender equivalency since it’ll make the legal marriage age equal for both men and women, which is in agreement with composition 14 of the Constitution of India.
Moving forward, indeed in the 21st century, society functions upon a paternalistic social structure, and numerous youthful girls are forced to leave seminaries and sodalities only to get wedded. One of the main ends of this law change is to ensure that girls are handed a further opening to do with their studies. Accordingly, further women are anticipated to go into advanced education, get jobs, and become financially independent in their lives.
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Likewise, this move will potentially stop the old-age practice of teenage marriage, where girls in the age group of 14- 15 are married off after being portrayed as 18. Indeed now according to the rearmost data,23.3 of women in the nation are married off at an age younger than 18. Data indicates that the academy powerhouse rate of girls in classes 1 to 5 and classes 6 to 8 is only 1.2 and 2.6 respectively, as compared to classes 9 to 10 which is a huge chance of 15.1.
There’s a stopgap that this decision will drop the powerhouse rate chance of school-going girls. Coming important advantage of an increase in the minimal age for marriage at 21 is that, a woman will be mentally, physically, and financially in a better position to stand up for herself against facing pressure or maltreatment from her family for getting wedded early or getting married against her will.
Teenage gravidity is frequently led by a high peril of complications during gestation and delivery which causes trouble to both the life of a mama as well as a child. therefore, adding the legal age of marriage will help in reducing motherly mortality and will also have a positive impact on the internal health of women.
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This move will help in diving into the social issues in addition to helping frugality thrive. The working population is in the age group of 15- 49 times which accounts for a vast bulk of the Indian population. still, the country’s patriarchal culture prevents it from producing gross domestic product in proportion to its working population. Women will now have an equal chance both at advanced education, and employment to make their life opinions on their own and to become fiscal independent which as a result leads to profitable growth.
Why should girls get married at the age of 21?
The matter is under discussion by the Government of India for raising the minimum legal age of marriage in India from 18 to 21 years for girls. It is already 21 for boys in India. Girls getting married at or after the age of 21 years will have a chance to complete their higher education and start a career. By the age of 18 years, they hardly complete their school and some of them are married off. If increasing the age of marriage brings more girls into higher education followed by employment, it will grant them a chance to become independent and decide for themselves.
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