Indian government increase legal age of women marriage from 18 to 21 .
9:24 AM
The 10 member task force will have as members secretaries health , Women and Child Development, Law and
School Education.
It will be headed by former Samata Party president Jaya Jaitly and will have among members V K Paul, Member, Health , Niti Ayog .
Health, Women and Child Development, Law and School Education. It will be headed by former Samata Party president Jaya
Jaitly and will have among members V K Paul, Member,The task force will examine the matters related to motherhood and marriage at an early age the age of motherhood imperatives of lowering maternal mortality rate
improvement of nutritional levels
related issues
The History of laws regarding minimum age of marriage
The law prescribes a minimum age of marriage to essentially
outlaw child marriages and prevent abuse of minors.
The Indian Penal Code enacted in 1860 criminalised any
sexual intercourse with a girl below the age of 10
Age of Consent Bill, 1927 made marriages with a girl under 12 invalid .
Sarda Act of 1929
In 1929, the Child Marriage Restraint Act set 14 and 18 years
as the minimum age of marriage for women and men
respectively.
The law is popularly known as Sarda Act after its sponsor
Harbilas Sarda, a judge and a member of Arya Samaj.
The Child Marriage Restraint Act was the first social reform
issue taken up by an organized women’s group in India.
This group pressured many politicians into supporting the
act by picketing their delegations, holding placards and
shouting slogans.
They believed that with the passing of this act, it would
show the world that India is serious about social reforms.
Was the law implemented?
The Act remained a dead letter during the colonial period
of British rule in India
British did not want to earn the displeasure of the
communal elements among the Hindus and Muslims.
Princely states were exempted.
Post Independence
1978 - Sarda act amended . Since then, the minimum legal
age for marriage has been 18 for women and 21 for men.
2006 - Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 also prescribe
18 and 21 years as the minimum age of consent for marriage
for women and men respectively. Strict punishments .
The various laws
• Personal laws of various religions that deal with marriage
have their own standards, often reflecting custom.
• For Hindus, Section 5(iii) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955
sets 18 years as the minimum age for the bride and 21 years
as the minimum age for the groom
• In Islam, the marriage of a minor who has attained puberty
is considered valid under personal law.
Problems arising out of early marriage
Data reflects that girls who are married before the age of 18
are More likely to experience unwanted pregnancies
Vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases and
At a greater risk of pregnancy related complications and maternal mortality.
Lack the recourse to proper education and access to health care, antenatal care, skilled child delivery and the complete
vaccination of the infants fant mortality and death of young children is significantly
higher in children born to mothers who are married at an
early age, according to a report by NCBI.
How big a problem is this?
• In 2005-2006, 44.5 % of women between the ages of 20-24 years
in India reported being married before 18 years of age.
• As per a UNICEF study, around 27% of the women in India are
married before turning 18.
• Girls in the age group of 15-19 who died due to issues during
pregnancy and childbirth in the year 2017 - 35,000.
The number was 103,000 in 2000.