The current minimum age of marriage for women is 18. (Representative)
New Delhi:
The proposal to raise the minimum age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 was approved by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday, a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the plan was under consideration.
Prime Minister Modi, in his Independence Day speech last year, mentioned this proposal.
“The government is constantly concerned about the health of daughters and sisters. To save daughters from malnutrition, it is essential that they get married at the right age,” the Prime Minister said.
Currently, the minimum age of marriage for men is 21, but for women it is 18.
The government is eyeing changes to the Child Marriage Prohibition Act, the Special Marriages Act and the Hindu Marriage Act to put the scheme into effect.
A NITI Aayog task force led by Jaya Jaitly supported the proposal.
Leading government expert VK Paul, senior officials from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Women’s and Children’s Development, Ministry of Law are among the members of the task force, established in June of this year. last.
Recommendations for the proposal were submitted in December because the task force emphasized that a woman must be at least 21 years old at the time of her first pregnancy. Delaying marriage has positive financial, social and health impacts on families, society and children.
Welcoming the move, Rajya Sabha MP Jaya Bachchan told NDTV, “This is the right decision. This will give girls more opportunities to study. They will be able to enjoy the independence of They will also have better job opportunities.”
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