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India's Muslims see politics behind marriage law move

Government's decision to raise marriageable age for women to 21 brings strong reactions from Muslim leaders
India's Muslims see politics behind marriage law move

A victim of child marriage holds a photograph of the ceremony. She was only 11 months old when her elders married her to a nine-year-old boy from a neighboring village in India's desert state of Rajasthan. (Photo: AFP)

Published: December 23, 2021 10:23 AM GMT
Updated: December 23, 2021 10:23 AM GMT

The Indian government's decision to raise the marriageable age for women to 21 from the current 18 irrespective of caste, creed and religion has evoked strong reactions from sociopolitical groups and Muslim leaders.

There is also a view that the move is political as this could polarize voters in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is desperate to retain power in the polls early next year.

The influential All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has urged the Narendra Modi-led dispensation to refrain from fixing any age of marriage and termed it as interference in personal liberty.

"Marriage is a very important requirement for human life but no age of marriage can be fixed as it is also an issue related to the protection of moral values," said Maulana Khalid Saifullah Rahmani, general secretary of AIMPLB.

He also asserted that any new laws to fix an age would be "useless and harmful laws."

The marriageable age for women has been fixed at 18 since 1978, but the norm applied to Hindus and Christians.

The government should have done it five years before ... why today just on the eve of elections? It is because women are now educated and know how to fight for their rights

"It is a futile exercise. The government should instead focus on helping and educating a girl before she attains the age of 18," said Muslim lawmaker and Hyderabad-based leader Asaduddin Owaisi.

Smriti Irani, the federal minister for women and child development, introduced the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021, in the lower house on Dec. 21.

As expected, there was no consensus or unanimity on the draft law from Congress and other parties at the stage of introduction itself.

"The government has neither spoken to any stakeholder nor consulted any state government.  We demand that the bill be referred to a standing committee of parliament," said Congress floor leader Adhir Chowdhury.

Interestingly, another Congress MP, Mansh Tewari, noted: "There are various views on this bill. I personally hold the view that the marriageable age should be raised to 25 and not 21."

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, sister of Rahul Gandhi and daughter of Congress president Sonia, said she is happy about this bill.

"The government should have done it five years before ... why today just on the eve of elections? It is because women are now educated and know how to fight for their rights. Even Prime Minister Modi had to bow before the wishes of the women," she said.

Introducing the draft law, the minister said: "We are, in a democracy, 75 years late in providing equal rights to men and women to enter into matrimony,” referring to 1947 when India got independence from British colonial rule.

Through this amendment, for the first time, Irani, a popular actress-turned-politician, said that "men and women will be able to decide on marriage at the age of 21, keeping in mind the right to equality."

Interestingly, controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen also seemed to have backed the Indian government's move.

"Minimum age of marriage for women in India is 21 years. Hope it will work for all women regardless of religious beliefs. Some men like child brides. They would be restless. Once upon a time men, even holy men, married children. But if you are civilized, you protect children's rights," she tweeted.

For Muslims, the marriageable age under Muslim Personal Law was allowed at “attaining puberty” — which is assumed when the bride or groom turns 15.

Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, sets a minimum age of 18 for the bride and 21 for the husband. This is the same for Christians under the Indian Christian Marriage Act, 1872, and the Special Marriage Act.

Ten percent of child marriages happen among the rich and affluent and over 45 percent among the poor, so the motive is economic

The menace of child marriage is an issue in India and it has been used and abused by affluent and "princely" families including Hindus. In most cases, child marriage is pushed even by consenting parents to keep family honor and to ensure that the children do not marry outside their caste and religion.

Child marriage is illegal in India under the provisions of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.

Under the Child Marriage Prevention Act, any marriage below 18 for women and 21 for men (so far) is illegal and the perpetrators of a "forced" child marriage can be punished by way of arrest, prosecution and fines.

"Ten percent of child marriages happen among the rich and affluent and over 45 percent among the poor, so the motive is economic. I fail to understand why the Modi government always wants to interfere in the institutions of marriage of individuals and communities," said Muslim lawmaker Owaisi.

Other Muslim lawmakers are also steadfastly opposed to the move to raise the marriageable age for women to 21.

"It should not happen. It should not happen to girls in my community. Marrying off daughters at 18 is in effect a relief for parents that they are finally 'home' [the in-laws' house] and would be now under protection of her husband," said Shafiqur Rahman of the socialist Samajwadi Party.

“The atmosphere of the country is bad. We have to take care of our daughters so that nothing wrong happens to them."

He was referring to the alarming rates of sexual attacks and rape of women across the country.

The government and the advocates of the new bill describe it as a "progressive step" which would in the long run contribute to empowering women.

There is also an argument that young women are safe from sexual violence and rape when they are married

Tushar Bhadra in PM Modi's constituency of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh told UCA News: "Simply raising the marriageable age for girls may not achieve the desired results. The real issue lies in the mindset and discrimination against girl children. Early marriage in India for Hindus and Muslims and even tribal and Christian communities is the result of certain practices and beliefs. In Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, people presume women’s honor can be protected only if one is married and later becomes a mother."

He added: "There is also an argument that young women are safe from sexual violence and rape when they are married. Early marriage also prevents elopement and marriages outside their own religion and caste for Hindus. There is no justification for the government to interfere in a parental decision or the decision of an individual." 

Assam educationist Mofidul Hussain warned that if the 21-year marriageable age becomes law, those marrying below that prescribed age become criminals.

“Secondly, child marriage rates have already dropped in India due to education and social campaigns. The child marriage rate has come down to 28 percent in 2016 from 48 percent in 2005," he said.

"The Modi government has other intentions and these are political. It abolished triple talaq and now this reduction in marriage age. The BJP's message to the Hindu population is ‘Look how we are teaching Muslims a lesson.’” 

Bhadra in Varanasi says that even if the intent was social and not political, the federal government has timed it wrong. "Doing anything like this which would provoke reactions from Muslims on the eve of elections speaks of a political design. Modi banned high-value currency notes in 2016 on the eve of Uttar Pradesh elections," he said.

That there is a strong political element behind the government's move can be gauged from the fact that no less than PM Modi himself has started flagging it in rallies.

"We are trying to raise the age of marriage of women to 21 so that they can have time to study and progress. The country is taking this decision for its daughters. Everyone is seeing who is having problems with this ... it has caused pain to some," he said at a function in Prayagraj attended by a large gathering of women.

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