Recently, the Cabinet passed a proposal, to increase the minimum age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years old. Claiming that it will lead to Women Empowerment. So then why are some people criticising it? What can be its benefits? And what is the real issue with Child Marriage?
In June 2020, the Ministry of Women and Child Development formed a task force headed by Jaya Jaitly. Talking to the Indian Express, Jaya Jaitly said that the reason behind increasing the minimum age for marriage the agenda wasn’t population control. Because India’s population has already been controlled. According to the latest data, the total fertility rate in India has already fallen below 2.0. So there’s no need to be concerned about it.
Their main agenda was to tackle the issues related to motherhood. Like the maternal mortality rate. And to reduce the deaths during childbirth. For this, they took feedback from 16 universities talked to 15 NGOs, and then it was decided to raise the age for marriage. But obviously, the underlying issue here is of Child Marriage. When girls are married off at a young age, the chances of death during childbirth increases. The question then arises, why are some people criticising this decision?
