The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021 proposed to raise the minimum age of marriage for women from 18 to:

The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021 proposed to raise the minimum age of marriage for women from 18 years to 21 years, the same as for men.

Background:

• The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 fixed the minimum age of marriage at 18 for women and 21 for men.
• A marriage below these ages is a child marriage and is voidable at the option of the party who was a child.

Basis of the Bill:

• The Jaya Jaitly Task Force, set up in 2020, studied issues such as maternal health, nutrition and the age of marriage.
• It recommended raising the age of marriage for women to 21 to promote gender equality, health and education.

Main features of the Bill:

• It proposed to raise the minimum age of marriage for women to 21 years.
• It proposed that the provisions would override all personal laws and customs.
• It proposed to extend the time for a person to annul a child marriage to five years after attaining majority.

Status of the Bill:

• The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2021 and was referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee.
• It lapsed with the dissolution of the 17th Lok Sabha in 2024.
• Some states have taken their own steps; for example, Himachal Pradesh passed a law in 2024 to raise the age of marriage for women to 21 in the state.

Arguments for raising the age:

• It would improve the health of mothers and children.
• It would allow women to complete education and gain economic independence.
• It would bring gender equality in the age of marriage.

Arguments against:

Critics said the focus should be on education and economic opportunities.

Child marriage in India:

Child marriage has declined significantly, but it still exists in many parts of the country.

Why not the other options?

• ✗19, 20 and 22 years were not proposed in the Bill.