This article is written by Sahil Arora of Guru Nanak Dev University Amritsar, Punjab
Abstract
The objective of this article is to analyse the potential pros and cons of revising the legal age of marriage for girls, as well as to explore the rationale behind this initiative. From a legal standpoint to the viewpoint of the average person, this article aims to thoroughly examine all possible reasons for discussing this issue and delve into the potential consequences of implementing or not implementing this decision.
Keywords
Age of marriage, Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR), Fertility rate, Child marriage
Introduction
A few months ago, the government of India decided to revise and extend the age of marriage for girls from 18 to 21, which means that the minimum age for marriage for both boys and girls will now be uniform i.e., 21 years. Currently, this proposal has been passed by our Union Cabinet, but still, some amendments are required to be made in certain Acts, such as the Hindu Marriage Act 1955, the Special Marriage Act 1954, and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006, to make it applicable[1]. If this happens, then it will be after more than 40 years that India will change or revise the age of marriage for girls, and then India will be in one of those countries where the age of marriage is 21, such as Japan, China, Singapore, etc.
Need
In June 2020, a task force was formed which was headed by Jaya Jaitly to discuss the issue of the age of marriage for girls[1]. It was told that the maternal mortality rate (MMR) among women who were married at an early stage of life was high and it was not good from any perspective. So basically, this decision was taken to tackle the problems faced by women’s during their motherhood.
Although it is said by a few that this step was taken to control the population of the country. Though there is no doubt that the population of India is huge, maybe we are the most populated country in the world according to some sources, but still, according to the data provided by the NFHS, the fertility rate of India is dropped to 2.0, which shows that it is under control and there are less chances of a population explosion in our country in the near future[2]. And if a nation properly utilizes the potential of its citizen, then an increase in the population will not become a cause of problems in a country.
Still, if we set aside all the data, statistics and proofs for a moment, it could be seen that even today many girls instead of focusing on their education, prefer to marry, and this trend is still prevalent in many rural areas. Compared to urban areas, people in rural areas still have the mindset to give more education and facilities to a male child as compared to a girl child. This mindset is so strongly embedded that, where earlier only parents were under compulsion to marry their daughters at an early age, now it can see that some girls themselves have grown up with such a mindset that education is just a formality and their end goal is just to secure their future, which their husband could do for them. No doubt securing the future is everyone’s desire, but instead of fulfilling their desires themselves by standing on their own feet, they are making themselves dependent on someone else, which can affect them in the future in case of any mishap with their spouse. It is bitter, but true.
So, the main focus for increasing the age of girls could be to:
• decrease the MMR
• solve complications during childbirth
• make the age of marriage uniform for both boys and girls
• provide equality as promised in Article 14 and Article 15 of the Indian Constitution
• provide girls with an opportunity to study more so that they need not be dependent on others.
Effects
This segment of the article can be divided into two further parts. The first segment talks about the possibilities that people and the government are expecting to happen after increasing the age of marriage for girls. And the second segment talks about what can happen if this change is not implemented properly. After all, everything is not just about making the law or bringing about a change in that law only; it’s about proper implementation, execution and working of the laws too.
- As per the first segment, while discussing this change in the law initiative, the government might have thought that increasing the legal age of marriage for girls would lead to a decrease in the number of child marriages. They might have thought of the “inverse-effect concept” here. Though it is a genuine thought too, because worldwide, one in every five girls is formally married or is in an informal union before reaching the age of 18[3]. And in India, around 1.5 million girls get married under the age of 18, which accounts for 1/3rd of the global total, which makes India home to the largest number of child brides in the world[4]. So, from these statistics, we can guess the motive of the government behind discussing the issue of change in the legal age of marriage for girls.
Another reason that can be the cause behind bringing about this change, which is connected to the previous effect point as well, is that it might lead to a decrease in the maternal mortality rate. Due to the marriage of the girls at a young age, complications arise in the future at the time of pregnancy and childbirth, which sometimes even lead to the death of the mother of that child. Also, the MMR in the year 2020 was 24,000[5]. And thus, the government might have chosen to tackle this problem by increasing the legal age of marriage for girls.
- Although the thoughts of the government are good and a great step has been taken by them to resolve these social issues, but still there are some hurdles that can prevent in achieving what they desire, which is discussed in the second segment below.
A major hurdle that can halt the government initiative is that the change in legal age might remain in paper and law books only and might not have any real impact in the society where it is needed the most. There are many reasons why there are high chances that this change doesn’t become reality. One such reason is the mindset of people. Mindset has a huge impact on the implementation of any law. If the people have a rigid mindset or they keep stuck in their orthodox thoughts, then expecting any change in society will be meaningless. And then it doesn’t matter how important the change is; it will never turn into a reality.
Another hurdle which can halt the government’s initiative to decrease the MMR in India is a lack of proper sex education. Even today, in most of the schools, no proper focus is given to this topic. Teachers are not bothered to teach students these topics, and because of this, students remain uneducated of it. And this could be more problematic if, in the future, those students try to learn about this topic, sex education, from any untrusted source. They might not get correct or full information because of which wrong notions might rose in their minds, which can be difficult for them to change in later stages of their lives.
Apart from the above discussed effects which can make this government action unsuccessful, another hurdle is the elopement of couples seeking marriage. In recent years, a trend has been seen that boys and girls who intend to get married but are facing some objections from their parents or society, prefer to elope with their partner so as to avoid the restrictions. If the elopement is without any threat or force, then our justice system provides protection to that couple as much as possible[6][7], but it should be kept in mind that both the partners should be major (i.e., a boy of minimum 21 years and a girl of minimum 18 years, as per current standards) and the elopement should be consensual. But the problem at ground level is that the parents or relatives of the boy or girl, by bribing the officials, threaten other partner parents. In many cases, a threat of killing is also given, which sometimes takes the form of honour killing. Thus, by increasing the age of marriage, more couples would elope to avoid the talks of others. But the problem with this issue is that it is not connected with the age of marriage, so it doesn’t matter whether the age of marriage is increased, decreased or remained unchanged; this issue will prevail until some strong steps are taken to avoid it. Some steps are suggested, but they also seem good on paper but do not work much on ground level, like making laws against honour killing, making parents and couples understand what each other wants to convey, etc. Although the court itself has observed that until some changes are not made in the law, they also cannot do much on their part[8], now whether this will be effective can only be known once it is brought into effect.
So, it can be clearly seen that a single problem of child marriage is interrelated and connected to so many other problems. All these problems although can be tackled individually too, but it will take a lot of time. But at the same time, we cannot hurry also in such sensitive matters. So, the government in general has to do a lot of work in order to bring about the things it wants.
Solutions
To deal with the hurdles, many solutions are sought, and many of them have shown positive results too.
- For instance, to deal with the mindset problem, if people in a society form a flexible mindset and agree that they want a change in society, a change for their upcoming generations, it would be easy and convenient for the government to implement such laws and changes and bring them into force. Thus, in order to see the positive effects of this change (increase) in age initiative, the government not only has to make changes in the law provisions, but also has to bring change in the thinking of the people. And the question that how to change the mindset or thinking of the people; it doesn’t have any straight-jacket answer. But a thing that has high chances of making it happen is by providing quality education, and proves are also available which shows that quality education can play a vital role in bringing about change in the mindset of the people, and the government is working today also on this through their schemes like “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao”.
- Public discussions of topic of sex or sex-related issues is still considered a taboo within Indian society; thus, to tackle this hurdle, a safe environment is to be created while talking about such topics. Also, while educating these lessons, it should be kept in mind that those topics are to be taught from the basics and not with the pre-conceived notion that everyone is aware of basic things, because if the basics remain uncertain, then follow-up lessons are of little use.
- In dealing with the problem of high MMR, India has, to some extent, achieved success. Where earlier in the year 2014–16, the MMR was 130 per lakh live births, it has decreased to 97 per lakh live births in the year 2018-2020[9]. This shows that India achieves the National Health Policy Target for MMR.
Conclusion
At last, one thing that is to be kept in mind is that whenever any change is to be brought into society, either through any law or in some other way, every person, either as an individual or as a group, has certain duties to perform.
Here, the government has taken some initiative by starting a discussion regarding bringing about a change in the law and in certain provisions. Now rest is the duty of the common people to obey, follow, and respect this decision if it is brought correctly. If people agree to this revision in the legal age of marriage for girls, there are chances that it will surely result in a positive improvement in the condition of the girls in the upcoming future in all aspects. And if it happens, there will be no doubt that this decision to change the legal age of girls will be considered a landmark decision. And this will motivate the government to bring more changes to the laws, which will be beneficial for the society.
But if, by chance, people don’t welcome this change and remain intact with their orthodox mindset, the situation will be the same as it was before the discussion of this change in legal age, or it can become worse too.
So of course, whether this decision is right or wrong will only be known in the future, and it will take some time. So, we have to keep patience and give time if we want to see any change. Right and wrong all depend on how people perceive them.
Ending this article with a quote of our Father of the Nation, M.K. Gandhiji- “Be the change you wish to see in the world”. So, if you want a change, you have to be part of that change.
References
[3] https://www.unfpa.org/child-marriage
[9] https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1879912
