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Prohibition of Child Marriage (Himachal Pradesh Amendment Bill 2024) proposes to amend The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 and related acts in the State.
- Earlier, in June 2024, a Central bill ‘Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021’ lapsed in Lok Sabha which aimed to bring uniformity in the age of marriage for men and women.
- 2021 Bill was based on recommendations of Jaya Jaitley Committee
Benefits of Raising age of Marriage for Women
- Secure Constitutional mandate of Gender Equality: Age for marriage for men is 21 years
- Reproductive Health: improved physical and psychological health through lower maternal mortality rate, bringing down teenage pregnancies
- Women Empowerment : Better education and employment outcomes
- Helps in achieving SDG5 (Gender Equality), SDG10 (Reduced Inequalities).
Concerns
- Illegal Marriages: May push a portion of the population into non-institutional marriages
- Negatively impact marginalized communities with high prevalence of marriage at lower ages
- Misuse by Parents: to control daughter’s choice, may give rise to meta-son preference, female foeticide.
- Does not address the social and cultural patriarchal norms
Other steps that can be taken
- Formalisation of Sex education in the school curriculum
- Formulation of specific programmes for girl’s health and nutrition
Historical perspectives related to age of marriage in India
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