On last Independence day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed a raise in women’s minimum age for marriage from 18 to 21. Reasons for the raise as read by Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman during the budget session was – to decrease malnutrition and maternal mortality rate amongst young women.
Are earlier marriages malnourishing women?
The National Family Health Surveys says that marital status makes no difference in a woman’s plate. As never-married women and currently-married women are 52% and 53% anaemic, separated and widowed are 54% and 57% anaemic.
However, stark differences are seen amongst women of different classes. Lowest class had 59% and the wealthier class had 48% anaemia. And tribal women are the most anaemic (60%). Meanwhile, men are only over 20 percent anaemic as to 55 percent plus in women.
Fifty-four percent of women do not consume fruits even once a week. Nor do they consume milk, meat, fish or eggs on a daily basis. And women from marginalised social backgrounds are thrice severely thin 12.% than the wealthier class 4%.
Thus, the latest survey points to poverty and patriarchy narrowing down nutrition of women in households irrespective of their marital status.
Women, the cheaper labour force
Previously a State Bank of India report has come up citing how beneficial the raise in marriage age will be for the nation. Women entering the labour force is indeed helpful for GDP growth.
However, in rural areas only 15% of women have completed 12 or more years of schooling, compared with 34% in urban areas. Worse than the rural-urban divide in education is economical inequality. Only 3 percent of women and 7 percent of men in the lowest class have completed 12 or more years of schooling, compared with more than half of women (51%) and men (58%) in the highest wealth quintile.
Right to free education is only up to 14 years, making higher education inaccessible and unaffordable to many girls in India. Number of schools have not increased proportionally nor the right to free education made upto college, as the proposed raised marriage age is 21.
“With this raise of marriage age, girls would be forced to take jobs in unorganised sectors. They would end up being contract labourers and dispensable cheap labour in the market,” says Shyla K John, Vice President of All India Mahila Sanskritik Sangathan (AIMSS).
The survey finds, majorly women (48%) and men (32%) are employed in agriculture. And in production, the workforce is 21% women and 32% men. While in professional, administrative, or managerial occupations women are employed more (10%) and men (8%).
Interestingly, the employed percentage difference between never-married women (19%) and currently-married women (23%) is only four percent. And as expected, the major chunk (51%) of employed women are divorced, separated or deserted women.
While economically poor women got employed at 29% , the middle class formed 26% and the wealthiest got only 17% employed, the survey finds.
More than half of the women workforce is divorced or deserted women and the next major chunk is economically impoverished women and the least number came from the wealthier quarters, which means it is majorly economical desperation that prompts women to get employed.
“The recent labour laws dilute workers’ rights, cut down on factory inspections and promote contract hiring to attract foreign investments. Thereupon young women’s entry into the market as cheaper labour, would only further increase the plights and disparities for women,” points out Shyla K John.
Permitting living-in but not marriages makes young women more vulnerable.
In a recent judgement, Allahabad High Court has ordered that two adults can live together and none can interfere. However, “When a law demands adult women to wait till 21 to get married, they would have unregistered marriages or living-in relationships. And when her partner abandons, she is denied maintenance rights. Marriage is intrinsically patriarchal, but then living-in relationship has no legal basis that will support young girls,” explains advocate Bindhu Ammini.
According to the survey, high prevalence of child marriages was found in Bihar, West Bengal and Tripura where over 40 per cent women were married before they turned 18.
Earlier marriages are prevalent amongst tribes, Muslims and the impoverished. The raise in marriage age will only prevent the most malnourished and impoverished women from availing medical and financial govt schemes for pregnant women. “Moreover, this becomes an exploitative tool for disciplining and punishing the Muslim and tribal men,” says Dr KM Sheeba, editor of Sanghaditha, a women’s magazine.
Advocate Sudha Ramalingam of Madras high court explains that laws regarding matrimony are difficult to be put into practice. “Despite the Dowry Prohibition Act, dowry is rampant. Covid time has kept the women’s and child helplines busy due to the increased domestic abuse. Laws in personal lives have limitations. Enforcing later marriages through law will be counterproductive,” Sudha elaborated.
The minimum age for consensual sex is 16, while for boys to get married it is 21. “If any amendment needs to be done, it is to make 18 as the minimum age for both boys and girls. It is the customary belief of the husband to be older than the wife that is swept into law. Let it be done away,” adds Sudha.
Can sex be equal and free in an unequal and unfree world?
Acknowledging the need for sexual outlets, Padmavati, a lifestyle educationist raised her concern, “It is fancy to speak about sexual freedom. But how can sex alone be free in an unequal and unfree world? We say consensual sex, but how far and how long is it consensual?”
According to the latest National Family Health survey, only 14% urban men and 8% rural men used condoms. And male sterilisation was only at 0.2 %. Therefore the burden of preventing pregnancy is burdened on women. While 3% took contraceptive intrauterine devices, 6% of women popped pills, 38% women had signed up for sterilisation.
“In my long years of working in the field with many abused young women and children, I am prompted to look at marriage and sex through the angle of abuse. Later marriages, therefore, are the best, but a law can’t enforce it,” Padmavati said.
And though the survey finds an increase in women population and in bank account holders, over 50% women and 42% percent men justified wife beating.
A nightmare for self-arranged marriages- State and parental control
With honour killings, charges of love jihad and many more, it is already very hard for self-arranged inter-religious, inter-caste marriages.
With this raise of girls’ marriage age to 21, the state will facilitate parental control on women more than ever before. “Even being an adult, her marriage will be nullified by the state and parents can easily file criminal charges against her husband for marrying an underaged woman,” says Sheeba.
On being asked whether the state can interfere in personal lives and how far, Sheeba replied, “State interfering in personal spaces must be checked. But as long as nation-states exist, we will have to turn to the judiciary and police for redressals and reforms. Even when we are critical and dissatisfied with the state and its mechanism, we have no other go, but appeal to them. It is a constant negotiation. It is a constant question where we can draw the line of state intrusion into our personal lives.”
“When women’s movement demanded to take away religious code in marriage, divorce and inheritance in early1980’s, then itself it was taken up by Hindutva as an exploitative tool for disciplining and punishing Muslim and tribal men. No sooner did Uniform Civil Code become the Hindu code that will be an added stepping stone to Hindu Rashtra,” Dr KM Sheeba told Maktoob.
Women – friendly structural reforms, is the way out
Women’s higher education and them entering the workforce will only work, when family along with various other institutions go through gender-sensitive structural reforms. It is only through such reforms that a higher number of school dropouts and unemployed women graduates can be addressed.
“Giving various incentives to parents and girls to encourage later marriage will be more effective than a legal raise,” according to Padmavati.
She went on to say: “We must teach our girls to dream of becoming self-sufficient and of leading a dignified life, rather than tempting them to settle at petty places. There must be elaborate and diverse programs to promote higher education, vocational training courses and women-friendly workplaces to ensure women’s participation. These would naturally make late marriages popular.”
When there is a complete stagnation in women-friendly developmental procedures, this legal raise of marriage age will only be unjust and dysfunctional.
