The task force headed by Jaya Jaitly, set up by the Centre, has told the Parliamentary standing committee on education, women, children, youth and sports that the minimum age of marriage for girls could be raised to 21 and can be implemented in a phased manner. Jaitly and other members of the task force met the committee on Wednesday at a meeting chaired by MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, the Chairman of the committee, and made its recommendations. They proposed two options in implementing the new minimum age — implementing it two years from the date of notification of the proposed Act or a phased schedule raising age of marriage for girls one year at a time, starting one year after the notification.

The committee, besides recommending the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, had also recommended a holistic review of schemes such as the Integrated Child Development Scheme and linked education with minimum age for marriage.

The task force, in its report to the Prime Minister’s Office, a copy of which is with BusinessLine, said premature marriage or motherhood not only plays havoc with the health of girls, but often ends the scope for education. “The task force believes that law has a strong effect in bringing about change. The implementation of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, has coincided with an accelerated decline in child marriages. Over time, people across cultures, societies and communities become aware of, understand, appreciate and accept the positive intent and benefits of legal measures for societal reform,” the report said.

A committee member told BusinessLine that they will study the report and make its recommendations during the monsoon session of Parliament. The MP said the committee has received many suggestions and most of them are against raising the age of marriage.

Opposition to the proposal

The Congress and other Opposition parties had opposed the proposal. MP TN Prathapan is learnt to have suggested that the law should not be amended without meeting all women members in Parliament, women’s organisations and representatives of students, while suggesting that the committee visited all States to understand the situation there.

The task force had recommended that the minimum age of marriage of girls should be raised to 21 years, similar to to that of boys, by bringing in an amendment to the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. “This, in turn, would unlock opportunities for employment, earning and financial independence. At the same time, this would lead to a optimum timing for the first pregnancy and motherhood resulting in substantial improvements in health, nutrition and well-being of women, and a sizeable reduction in the risk of maternal mortality, low birth weight, infant mortality and childhood undernutrition,” the committee reasoned.

The task force observed that making child marriages void ab initio can have an adverse impact on women, including denial of their rights, and the legal benefits that she may be entitled to from the marriage. “In the light of this, the task force recommends that for now, the legal status of child marriages be maintained as voidable as per the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, subject to existing exceptions under sections 12 and 14. It is further recommended that a comprehensive study on the impact of the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Karnataka Amendment) Act, 2016, which stipulates child marriage as void, should be conducted, to aid the Government of India in reviewing this provision in the future,” the report of task force said.

Need better incentives

The task force recommended that specific plans, programmes and new schemes in the areas of girls’ health, nutrition and education be formulated and implemented even prior to the implementation of the amendment.

The report said conditional cash transfer schemes, offered by some States, have proven to be instrumental in improving school enrolment and retention, and delaying the age of marriage. They also recommended increase in the number and amount of scholarship for girl students under the existing Udaan and Pragati schemes to at least ₹10,000 per student and introduction of a new scholarship scheme for 10 lakh girl students for enrolment in any higher education stream, including professional and vocational courses. “The scholarships, currently in existence specifically for girls, are too few and too small,” the report said.

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