Bill to increase women’s marriage age sent to Parliamentary panel

The amendment bill includes altering the definition of “child” to “mean a male or female who has not completed 21 years of age”. The Centre has also increased the time period, from two to five years, during which a child marriage can be challenged. Union minister for women and child development Smriti Irani introduced the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021, in Lok Sabha on Tuesday amid unruly scenes and sloganeering in the House. The opposition parties spoke in a united voice against the inclusion of the bill in the legislative agenda at the last minute and demanded it be referred to a standing committee for detailed scrutiny.

Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, “This bill has been included in the supplementary agenda suddenly. This was circulated just half an hour before it was introduced in the House. We want to advise the government that when you move in such a hurry you can make mistakes. This is being discussed across India. The government has neither discussed it with any stakeholder nor any state. We demand that this bill be referred to the standing committee.”

Trinamool Congress member Saugata Roy also opposed the way the bill was introduced and called for a proper discussion and scrutiny by the House panel. RSP MP N K Premchandran said: “The basic purpose of a legislation is whether the law is enforceable. This law would not be enforceable.”

NCP MP Supriya Sule also pushed for referring the bill to a standing committee. “This is the second or the third time that the government is aggressively trying to push a bill. It does not follow what is decided in the business advisory committee. We condemn the new practice being followed by this government. If you want to truly empower women, consult all stakeholders. This bill should be referred to a standing committee for detailed discussion.” DMK MP Kanimozhi accused the government of “not believing in consulting anyone” and threw her weight behind the demand for standing committee scrutiny.

Irani agreed to the demand and said, “I would like to say that we are 75 years too late in providing equal rights to men and women to enter into matrimony. Today for the first time, with this amendment, both men and women will be able to make a decision on marriage at the age of 21, keeping in mind the right to equality.”