The second meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee entrusted with studying the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill 2021, which proposes raising the age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years, was conducted on Wednesday.
According to sources, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth, and Sports, chaired by BJP MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, met with members of the Task Force appointed by the government in June 2020, which recommended raising the marriage age to improve the nutritional status of mothers and newborns and reduce infant and maternal mortality rates. The Ministry of Women and Child Development tabled the Bill in Parliament last December, based on the Task Force’s recommendations, and it was referred to the Standing Committee after opposition parties demanded more scrutiny.
Former Samata Party leader Jaya Jaitley, NITI Aayog member Vinod Paul, and Ahmedabad-based Dr. Dipti Shah were among those in attendance from the Task Force. The Standing Committee members only received a copy of the Task Force’s report on the age of marriage “a day or two ago,” according to those present, prompting another round of debate with them.
Education is available to all
The parliamentary panel was also reminded that raising the age of marriage for women must be supported with measures that aid in delaying underage weddings, such as boosting women’s safety and access to education.
The parliamentary panel received 95,000 emails, of which 90,000 were in opposition to the bill. T.N. Prathapan, a Congress member who was unable to attend the meeting on Wednesday, wrote to Mr. Sahasrabudhe, stating that “a hurried legislation may end up creating societal chaos” and “it will affect many women in our society.”
He has also requested that the Chairman ensure that the committee meets with all-female Parliamentarians from both Houses before the report is finalized. Sushmita Dev of the Trinamool Congress and Pratibha Singh of the Congress are the only two women on the committee.
“We need to visit all throughout the country, regardless of urban and rural diversity, to meet women, girls — both adolescent and young, parents, activists, gender scholars, and other stakeholders,” Mr. Prathapan continued. We need to meet with them in person to better understand their worries.” Even religious organizations that had protested the legislation, he said, would have to be summoned in.
Parliamentary Committee has not invited civil society organizations for talks
The Parliamentary Standing Committee has not yet invited civil society organizations for consultations, according to civil society organizations. “Many of us have submitted our applications. Young people involved in the Young Voices movement have also written directly to the committee. “However, the Standing Committee has yet to acknowledge our communications, much less ask us for a meeting,” said Kavita Ratna, Director Advocacy, Concerned for Working Children. In January 2022, the Standing Committee was given the duty of analyzing the Bill and given three months to do so, but it was given a three-month extension until June 2022.
Civil society has criticized the bill, claiming that it is necessary to expand access to education, skill training, and career possibilities for women, as well as to strengthen maternity health services in order to minimize maternal and newborn death rates. Many further claims that raising the legal age for women to marry will increase the incidence of underage weddings and leave young adults without legal protection.