There was a proposal to raise the minimum age for marriage of women from 18 to 21. This proposal was cleared by the Union Cabinet yesterday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a mention of the proposal during his Independence Day speech last year. The reason for this change is that the government is concerned about the health of women- be it daughters or sisters. In order to protect them from malnutrition, girls need to be married at the right age according to the Prime Minister,’
The current minimum age for marriage is 21 years for men and 18 years for women. The government is now looking into making changes in the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, Special Marriage Act as well as the Hindu Marriage Act to implement the plan. A task force comprising officials of the Health Ministry, Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Law Ministry was set up in June last year. The task force submitted their recommendations and stressed that a woman should be at least 21 years old at the time of her first pregnancy. They also submitted that delay in the age of marriage had a positive impact on finance and health of families, children and society at large.
