Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Marriageable age

The Law Commission's suggestion that marriages below 18 years of age for both boys and girls be prohibited, marriages between 16 and 18 made voidable and marriages below 16 void is a right step towards abolishing child marriages so rampant in rural India.

The argument that the commission needs to have an unbiased view of the interests of the rural poor who opt for child marriages compelled by socio-economic factors can never be accepted as a valid excuse for not doing away with the evil. However, the proposal to bring down the marriageable age for boys from 21 to 18 does not appear to be a logical one. Though there is no scientific reason for any disparity in the marriageable age of boys and girls, the mid-20s could be considered a mature age for an Indian man to marry and shoulder the responsibility of a family.

Lowering the marriageable age of men to 18 would, in a way, endorse child marriage. The appropriate marriage age should be 24 for men and 21 for women. It is important for men and women to be physically and mentally mature and possess a minimum educational qualification at the time of marriage. This will help them to lead a healthy married life.

If a boy marries at 18, the age of the girl he marries will be 15 or 16 and such marriages cannot be valid under the law. Rarely do boys marry girls of the same age or those older to them. Boys marrying girls of lesser age is a universal practice.

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