- Thursday, April 25, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
AT a time when discussion is on in India over raising the minimum marriage age of girls from 18 to 21 years, the Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR) has expressed concern over the same, saying several schemes and the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) Act have the scope of providing support to children up to 18 years of age.
The body in the eastern Indian state also said that if the move on raising the girl’s age of marriage is implemented, it will override the existing customs, practices and usage, the Press Trust of India reported.
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The OSCPCR wrote a letter to Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, the chairperson of the parliamentary committee on education, women, children, youth & sports, to say that the minimum age of marriage of boys should be reduced to 18 instead.
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“I humbly request you to kindly consider not raising the legal age of marriage of girls to 21, rather keeping 18 as the minimum legal age for both boys and girls,” OSCPCR chief Sandhyabati Pradhan told the Sahasrabuddhe-led panel.
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The Prohibition of Child Marriage Bill, 2021, which has sought a uniform rule for all communities, was introduced in Lok Sabha on December 21, 2021.
It was later sent to the parliamentary standing committee for review.
If enacted, the proposed amendment will redefine ‘child’ to include male and female who are yet to complete 21 years.
“That change of legislation in isolation will never be able to stop child marriage, unless there is socio-behavioural change among parents and community,” Pradhan said in the letter.
Stressing on a need to strengthen families by providing appropriate livelihood opportunities, the OSCPCR chief drew attention to the fact that the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection Act and programmes such as Integrated Child Protection Scheme have the scope of supporting vulnerable children only till 18.
She said in such circumstances, there will be no scope of supporting a bride or groom between 19 and 21 years if rescued from child marriage.
“Act like POCSO has restricted consensual sex up to the age of 18. This implies that someone may have sexual act after 18 but won’t be able to marry till 21. This will create new sets of issues like increasing unwed mothers and foeticide thereafter,” Pradhan said.
She said the OSCPCR is spearheading a movement to erase child marriage in Odisha by 2030.
A high-powered state committee has been set up to aid the process by bringing together many government and non-government stakeholders.
Pradhan said she has spoken to different stakeholders, including teenagers, before taking up the matter with the parliamentary committee.
