Suggested citation: Aarya Parihar, Achieving Parity in Legal Age of Marriage Without Addressing the Elephant in the Room , JURIST – Student commentary, January 14, 2022, www.jurist.org/commentary/2022/01/Aarya-Parihar-Marriage-Legal-Age-India/. The reactions of political parties to the lynchings in Punjab bordered on the mere justification of violence; and perhaps even called for the legalization of such mafia justice. Congress President Navyot Sidhu called for public hanging as punishment for sacrilege. The keeper of a gurdwara has now been arrested in the Kapurthala incident. Before raising the legal age of marriage, the government should work on the Right to Education Act (RTE). It should be extended beyond the age of 14 and guaranteed at least upper secondary education, especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, when girls` drop-out rates reached a new high. The importance that Indian society attaches to this institution has paved the way for various questions about its legality in the context of law. A question such as “What should be the legal age of marriage for women in India?” has often provoked different opinions from major interest groups in society. According to experts, many girls decide to marry early to get rid of abusive homes where they are seen as a burden and need to be married. They see marriage as an option for freedom. However, the implementation of this law could be a game changer.

In the 19th century, the age of marriage for women was 10 years and from 1949 it was 15 years. However, in 1978, an amendment was passed under the Child Marriage Restriction Act (CMRA) to raise the age of marriage for girls to 18. And in 2006, the Indian government enacted the Prevention of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), which replaced the CMRA with a motto to abolish child marriage. While 44 years have passed since the anti-child marriage law, the primitive practice continues in several parts of the country. In June 2020, the Ministry of Women and Child Development set up a team led by Jaya Jaitley to investigate the relationship between the timing of marriage and issues of women`s nutrition, infant mortality rate (IMR), maternal mortality rate (MMR) and other issues. The result suggests raising the age of marriage to 21. In New Zealand, however, the age of marriage is 20 for both men and women. In Singapore, persons under the age of 21 who wish to marry must obtain parental consent, and those under the age of 18 also require a special licence issued by the Ministry of Social and Family Development. The bill is based on the assumption that raising the age of marriage will eradicate the practice of child marriage. They are confined to the household and are neither trained nor expected to enter the labour market. Thus, they are seen by families as a financial burden until marriage, and early marriage is not only in line with tradition, but is also more economically feasible. The risk of pregnancy outside marriage – which can jeopardize marriage prospects and make the girl a financial burden indefinitely – makes child marriage appear a solution, not a problem, even for many Indian communities.

Mahima married a few days after her 16th birthday. It was a tight affair in his village in Bihar. Covid-19 offered his family the perfect opportunity to organize this discreet wedding without attracting too much attention. “Schools were closed, I had nothing to do at home. Also, nowadays it is not so easy to get an ideal groom. He took me to Delhi, he works as an air conditioning fitter and I took a job in a beauty salon,” jokes Mahima, who is expecting her first child and a legal marriage license when she turns 18 later this year. It is obvious that allowing girls to complete their education delays marriage and gives them the opportunity to be financially independent. According to the National Family Health Survey-4, the median age of marriage increases from 17.2 years for out-of-school women to 22.7 years for women with 12 or more years of schooling. Education enables them to realize their desires and live a life of dignity, and gives them the opportunity to defend their sexual and reproductive rights in their decision to marry. Interestingly, in 2018, the Law Commission proposed that 18 should be the minimum legal age for marriage between men and women. The panel states: “If a universal age is recognized for a majority and it gives all citizens the right to choose their government, surely they must also be able to choose their spouse.” In 1929, the legal age of marriage in India was 14, under the Child Marriage Restraints Act and, after independence, the law was amended twice and in 1978, the age of marriage for women was raised to 18.

At first glance, these 4 years may not seem like a long leap to the naked eye, but by analyzing the social context and dynamics of the relationship between man and woman, it is an example of how India has come a long way. The solution lies in empowering young girls, encouraging them to educate and achieve girls` financial empowerment, and conducting awareness-raising programmes on the negative effects of child marriage. To ensure that a girl`s right to live the life of her choice is respected and preserved, education and health care should be subsidized by the government. It is necessary for the government not only to pass this law and anticipate a demographic change, but also to develop a mechanism on the ground to raise awareness and implement this policy change so that the benefits are reflected in society. Such measures will bring about a real change in the mentality of society, more than legislation ever will. But there have been judicial interventions that have frowned upon interfaith marriages, and the BJP governments of the U.P. and Haryana have proposed measures to prevent what they call the “jihad of love.” Increased surveillance of privacy by the state and vigilante groups is a reality. According to the UN Children`s Fund, child marriage is defined as “a marriage of a girl or boy before the age of 18. and refers to both formal marriages and informal unions in which children under the age of 18 live with a partner as if they were married.” To put women on an equal footing with men, the NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to raise the legal age of marriage for women from 18 to 21.

According to Prime Minister Modi, raising the legal age of marriage will empower girls and help them build their careers. On 23 December 2021, the Karnataka Assembly passed the Anti-Conversion Act – Protecting Karnataka`s Right to Religious Freedom, 2021.