Current Affairs-3rd week of August 2020

Govt. of India may review the age of marriage: PM

Context:

• The Indian Prime Minister has stated in his Independence Day speech that the government may take a relook at the age of marriage of women.

Background:

• The Budget Speech of 2020 proposed the setting up of a task force to look into the issue of age of a girl entering motherhood to help lower maternal mortality rates and malnutrition levels. In June 2020, the government announced a 10-member panel for this purpose.

Details:

• When a girl is married too early and has a child before the age of 20 years, available evidence highlights the detrimental effect it has on the health and growth of the child.
  • Scientific studies have shown that children born to adolescent mothers (10-19 years) were more likely to be stunted (shorter for their age) than those born to young adults (20-24 years), and adult mothers.
  • Children born to adolescent mothers also had higher prevalence of low weight as compared to adult mothers.
• Given the relation between age of a girl entering motherhood and the age of a girl at marriage, the government has indicated its willingness to take strong decisions about the age of marriage of girls.
• Increasing age at first marriage, age at first birth, can be a promising approach to improve maternal and child nutrition.

Counter arguments:

• The National committee wants to increasing the legal age of marriage for girls.
• There are also arguments that the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 instead of curbing child marriages.
• The reasons for early marriage vary across the country. The issue of poor nutritional status in teenage mothers is also due to poverty and lack of safety driving early marriage in girls.
• Some have argued that lack of proper education, poor economic status among teenage mothers also contribute to poor nutritional outcomes for the mother and child and emphasize the need to act on these factors first before lowering the marriage age.

Way forward:

Focus on empowerment:

• While legal enactment to prevent child marriages is necessary, there is also the need to simultaneously work towards empowering the girls by ensuring education, ensuring economic and social empowerment of women and girls.
• There is the need for well resourced initiatives aimed at increasing girls’ access to education and health, create enabling opportunities for economic independence of the girls, which will result in empowerment of the girls. This will not just delay marriage but lead to a long term, positive health and education outcomes.