In an interview with The Quint, former Samata Party President Jaya Jaitly, who headed the 10-member task force that recommended changing age of marriage from 18 to 21, takes on criticism against the move.
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"Law alone is not of any use. And as sensitive people, we realise that about any law in India," said Jaya Jaitly, who headed the 10-member task force that recommended raising the age of marriage for women from 18 to 21.
In an interview with The Quint, the former Samata Party president takes on criticism against the recommendation and answers whether it will really put an end to child marriage – the often-cited reason behind raising the age of marriage for women.
A UNICEF report says that India is home to every third child bride in the world, with more than 100 million of them getting married even before they turn 15.
Feminists have long argued that simply increasing the age of marriage will serve no purpose when the causes for child marriage – poverty and lack of access to education – are not addressed.
Recommending the change, Jaitly argued that most developed countries had gender-neutral laws for age of marriage. If it is going to make no real difference, why not reduce the marriage age for men from 21 to 18, critics asked.
When asked why women can't choose partners at 18 if they can choose lawmakers at the same age, Jaitly said that a vote is something that one can change after five years.
Following the approval of the proposal, the Union government tabled an amendment to the Child Marriage Act, 2006, and also the Special Marriage Act, 1954 and the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 in the winter session of 2021. However, the bills have now been referred to a 31-member Parliamentary Standing Committee which will look into them. When enacted, the law will apply to all religious communities, and will supersede personal laws.
So, what happens next?
Even Jaitly feels infrastructure needs to be strengthened.
"It has been said that it will not come into operation for a year, until all these various campaigns and things are done, one year passes very quickly. So I would hope that irrespective of whatever happens, the government departments who are responsible for putting infrastructure in place, they should do so anyway," she said.
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