The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliates have welcomed the Narendra Modi government’s proposal to raise the legal age for women to be married from 18 years to 21 years.
As per sources, the proposal was cleared by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday and the government is likely to bring a bill in the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament to amend the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.
RSS leaders say the proposal, apart from addressing the long-pending demand to address the issue of underage girls being forced into “love jihad”, also aims to empower girls and woman across religions.
Speaking to News18.com, Alok Kumar, international working president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, said lower age for marriage isn’t right for the physical or emotional well-being of women.
Kumar, a lawyer by profession, also believes that the step would help keep a check on population explosion since women will be more equipped to make the right decisions about their health. “I would like to congratulate the central government on this decision. This is ‘subh lakshan‘ (an auspicious step)… This move is to end gender discrimination as both boys and girls will have same marriage age. This also gives equal rights and marriage age to girls of all religions,” he said.
Asked if this would address the VHP’s long-drawn battle against so-called ‘love jihad’, Kumar said, “I don’t look at everything as binaries of Hindu and Muslim. It is a fact that minor girls were being targeted by Muslim men and who were then forced to convert. However, I believe that the law isn’t made to address that issue. It is a step to ensure that girls have the opportunity to be mature and decide for themselves.”
Indresh Kumar, a senior RSS functionary, said increasing the legal age for marriage to 21 will help women complete graduation and make them self-reliant.
“The legal age for marriage at 21 years, same as that for boys, will allow girls to complete their graduation. Second, they’ll get a chance to acquire skills to be self-reliant. Third, they will be mature enough to differentiate right from wrong and see through the frauds. This will empower women and would be unfair to look at in the context of any specific issue,” said Indresh Kumar.
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