Kerala opposes Centre’s move to raise minimum age for women's marriage to 21 years

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Government has opposed the Centre’s move to raise the minimum legal age for marriage of women from 18 to 21 years.

In a letter to the National Commission of Women, the State pointed out that a woman attains voting right at 18 years and it’s not right to ask her to wait till 21 years for marriage.

It also pointed out that even the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act has fixed 18 years as the minimum age for a consensual sexual relationship.

Earlier, the Women’s Commission had directed the State Women and Child Development Department to convey its opinion on the proposed bill to raise the marriageable age of women to 21 years. The issue was discussed in detail in the CPM, and the official stance of the State on the matter was then conveyed to the Commission.

Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani presented the Prohibition of Child Marriage Amendment Bill, 2021, which seeks to bring uniformity in the marriageable age of men and women, in Lok Sabha in December 2021. The Bill is currently with the Parliament Standing Committee and will come into effect only after being passed by both houses of Parliament and getting notified.

Many political parties, including Congress, CPM, CPI, and the Muslim League, have come out against the proposed legal amendment. The Muslim League, in particular, objected to the move, arguing that the proposed amendment was against the Muslim Personal Law.