New Delhi: Union Cabinet Minister for Women & Child Development, Smriti Irani introduced the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill 2021 in Lok Sabha on Tuesday. The Bill is aimed to increase the legal marriage age of women from 18 years to 21 years.
Smriti Irani introduced the Bill in the Lok Sabha today and in her remarks said that the government is open to sending the bill to Standing Committee for a further discussion on it.
"In a democracy, we are 75 years late in providing equal rights to men and women to enter into matrimony. Through this amendment, for the first time men and women will be able to make a decision on marriage at the age of 21, keeping in mind the right to equality," Union Minister Smriti Irani said in the parliament.
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During the introduction of the Bill Congress pushed that the Centre shall send the bill for further scrutiny to a parliamentary panel.
"A lot of discussions are being done in India over this matter. The government has neither spoken to any stakeholder nor consulted any state. We demand that the Bill be referred to Standing Committee," Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said in Lok Sabha.
Cabinet last week had cleared the proposal by the Centre to raise the legal marriage age for women from 18 to 21 years. If the bill is passed it would bring the legal age of marriage for women at par with men which is 21 years.
Bill introduced in Lok Sabha today's move would also impact amending personal laws governing the age of marriage such as the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, Special Marriage Act, and personal laws such as the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.