In what has generated much criticism from several quarters, Syed Tufail Hasan, an MP from the Samajwadi Party, said on Friday, 17 December, that if a girl attained sexual maturity at the age of 16, then she "can get married" at the same age as well.
Speaking to news agency ANI following the Centre's decision to increase the minimum age of marriage for girls from 18 to 21, MP Hasan had asked, "If a girl can vote at 18, why can't she get married?"
Hasan further said that delaying marriage could cause fertility issues in women, and give rise to late-parenting.
"The fertility age of women ranges from 16-17 years to 30 years. Proposals for marriage start coming at the age of 16. If the marriage is delayed, there are two disadvantages: One is the possibility of infertility. The second is that children are not settled when one is ageing. When you are in the last decade or so of your life, your children are still students. We are breaking the natural cycle," said MP Hasan, as quoted by ANI.
Echoing Hasan, another Samajwadi Party MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq said that everyone in the country wanted to marry their daughters off at an early age "as India is a poor country".
Following the two statements made by MPs of his own party, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav distanced himself and the party from the comments, stating, "Samajwadi Party has nothing to do with any such statements."
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Terms SP's Mindset 'Talibani'
Meanwhile, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Union Minority Affairs Minister and BJP leader, hit out at the SP, calling their mindset "Talibani," as he was addressing an event to mark 'Minorities Day'. He further added that such "Talibani mindsets" would not hamper the constitutional rights of the women in the country.
Some statements surprise me. They say girls will turn rogue if married off at the age of 21. Why will they turn rogue? Don't you trust them?Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Union Minister
Naqvi said that so many countries, including Islamic ones, had revised the minimum age for marriage over time. He called for the need for "social empowerment" of women, in addition to their "educational empowerment."
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