It is obvious that allowing girls to complete their education delays marriage and gives them the opportunity to be financially independent. According to the National Family Health Survey-4, the median age of marriage increases from 17.2 years for out-of-school women to 22.7 years for women with 12 or more years of schooling. Education enables them to realize their desires and live a life of dignity, and gives them the opportunity to defend their sexual and reproductive rights in their decision to marry. More recently, Cabinet has proposed raising the legal age of marriage in India for women from 18 to 21, supported by the Child Marriage Restraints Act and the Special Marriage Act, 1954 and the Child Marriage Prohibition Act, 2006. On the anniversary of India`s independence, the Prime Minister stated that the Government should consider the minimum age of marriage for girls, based on a proposal by a committee of the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development. On 22 December 2021, the Child Marriage Prohibition (Amendment) Act 2021, which aims to raise the legal age of marriage for women from 18 to 21, was sent to a standing parliamentary committee for further consideration. Another concern is that women currently of legal age of 18 have been forced to marry by their families against their will or have not been allowed to be with those they loved and wanted to marry. However, as the legal age is now 21, girls will not be able to marry as soon as possible after their choice, and they will be forced to live with their controlling and intrusive families for an extended period of time. This time could also be abused by patriarchal families to restrict and control their activities. In this context, there is also no guarantee that raising the legal age limit will enable more families to provide education for girls. If at least one of the spouses has not yet reached the general age of marriage, the marriage is considered a minor. Six states completely ban underage marriage: Delaware, New Jersey, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and New York. Other states may require the minor partner to obtain either parental consent, judicial authorization, or both, or to invoke “extraordinary circumstances.” The minimum age of marriage for minors, when all extenuating circumstances are taken into account, is generally between 15 and 17 years, but may be lower in California and Massachusetts.
Nine states do not allow a person over the age of 21 to marry a minor. In New Zealand, however, the age of marriage is 20 for both men and women. In Singapore, persons under the age of 21 who wish to marry must obtain parental consent, and those under the age of 18 also require a special licence issued by the Ministry of Social and Family Development. Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States and its inhabitants are U.S. citizens. In Puerto Rico, the general age of marriage is 21, as that is the age of majority. The general age of marriage in Puerto Rico is 21 or 18 with parental consent. [35] In Guam, the general age is 18, but 16-year-olds may marry with the consent of at least one parent or guardian. [36] In American Samoa, the age of marriage has been 18 for both sexes since September 2018. Previously, the age of marriage for women was 14. [37] American Samoa does not allow marriages with minors. In the District of Columbia, the general age is 18, but 16-year-olds may marry with exceptions.
[35] In the United States. Virgin Islands The age of marriage is 14 for women and 16 for men. [38] In the Northern Mariana Islands, men must be 18 to marry, while women can marry at 16 with parental consent. [39] Citation: Aarya Parihar, Achieving Parity in Legal Age of Marriage Without Addressing the Elephant in the Room , JURIST – Student Commentary, January 14, 2022, www.jurist.org/commentary/2022/01/Aarya-Parihar-Marriage-Legal-Age-India/. 1. Equal legal age of marriage Interestingly, in 2018, the Law Commission proposed that 18 be the minimum legal age for marriage between men and women. The panel states: “If a universal age is recognized for a majority and it gives all citizens the right to choose their government, they must certainly also be able to choose their spouse. Following the May 2022 parliamentary debate on raising the legal age of marriage for women in India from 18 to 21, a new bill aims to improve the health and well-being of young women and their children, reduce the incidence of teenage pregnancy, and help women gain better educational and employment opportunities.
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