Minimum Marriage Age For Women Is Now 21

The Union Cabinet of India has taken a crucial decision of raising the age bar of women for marriage, from 18 to 21. This decision came more than a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement which was made during his Independence Day speech in 2020.

As of now, the proposed minimum age of marriage for men is 21 and for women, it is 18. Very soon, even the women’s minimum age will be 21. The government will bring amendments to the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, Special Marriage Act and Hindu Marriage Act in order to make this proposal full-fledged.

A task force of Niti Ayog, headed by Jaya Jaitley, has come up with this proposal. Paediatrician VK Paul was also a part of this task force.

Even the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Women and Child Development, High Education, School Education and Literacy Mission, and Ministry of Justice and Law were also part of this task force.

This task force was formed in June 2020 and it gave a proposal in December 2020. According to the report submitted, the minimum age of a woman while giving birth to a child should be 21.

It further added that delay in marriage will have a positive impact on the economic, social and health of women, children and society.