What's the women's Legal Marriage Age?

Ground Report | New Delhi: What's the women's Legal Marriage Age; The Cabinet has approved a proposal to increase the legal minimum age of marriage for women from 18 to 21, making it equal to that of men. It has been known that after Cabinet approval, the government will introduce an amendment to the Child Marriage Prohibition Act of 2006 and thus make amendments to the Special Marriage Act and personal laws such as the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955.

What's the women's Legal Marriage Age

The Indian Express reported, based on sources, that the passage of the bill on Wednesday is based on recommendations sent to Niti Aayog in December 2020 by the Center's working group, led by Jaya Jaitly, which was set up to examine "Matters related to maternity age, imperatives to reduce the maternal mortality rate (MMR), improve nutritional levels and related issues."

The committee also recommended that a broad public awareness campaign be carried out to encourage social acceptance of the decision to raise the legal age of marriage for women. At the same time, it has also sought access to schools and universities for girls, including the organization of means of transport in the event that educational institutes are present in remote areas.

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The approval of the proposal is based on the recommendations sent to NITI Aayog in December 2020 by the Center's working group, headed by Jaya Jaitly, which was formed to examine “issues related to the age of maternity, imperatives to reduce the maternal mortality rate (MMR), improvement of nutritional levels and related aspects ”. Leading government expert VK Paul, senior officials from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Development of Women and Children, Ministry of Law were among the members of the working group, which was established in June last year.

Curriculum

The task force also recommended that a broad public awareness campaign be carried out to encourage social acceptance of the decision to increase the legal age of marriage for women. The committee has also sought access to schools and universities for girls, including the organization of means of transportation in the event that educational institutes are present in remote areas.

In addition to this, the committee has also recommended that sex education be formalized and introduced into the school curriculum. Training of women in polytechnic institutes, vocational and business training and improvement of livelihoods have also been suggested as means of ensuring that an increase in the age of marriage can be achieved.

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"If the girls can show that they are financially independent, the parents will think twice before marrying them off earlier," the sources said.

Prime Minister Modi mentioned raising the legal age of marriage for women during his Independence Day speech last year. He said: “This government is constantly concerned about the health of daughters and sisters. To save daughters from malnutrition, they need to be married at the right age."

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