Parliament Committee Examining Marriage Bill Gets Three Months Extension Again

After a three-month extension was provided in March to the Parliament panel examining the marriage bill, another extension is now underway according to reports. The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha during the last Winter Session.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee is examining the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill 2021 which proposes to raise the marriage age of women from 18 to 21 as a minimum age rule.

Suggested Reading: Child Rights Protection Body Asks Rajasthan Govt To Review Registration Of Marriage Bill

What has the extension been given for the marriage bill?

Jagdeep Dhankar, the Rajya Sabha Chairman has now granted another three months extension to the Parliamentary Standing Committee order to examine the marriage bill. The Standing Committee on Education, Children, Women, Youth and Sports is examining the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment Bill) of 2021.

The bill proposes that the minimum age of marriage for women should be raised from 18 to 21. 

The Rajya Sabha Secretariat stated: "Honourable Chairman, Rajya Sabha, has granted an extension of three months with effect from October 24, 22, to the department related to Parliamentary Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports for examination and presentation of report around the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021"

This is not the first time that an extension is being given to the committee for the said examination. An extension was earlier given in March this year for three months. The Bill was induced in the Lok Sabha during its last Winter Season. There have been several hurdles in bringing this bill to pass including the committee not having a chairman for a long time after chairman Vinay Sahasrabuddhe retired. BJP MP Vivek Thakur has now taken Sahasrabuddhe's place and is all set to look over the examination. A lot of female MPs have been admitted to the committee to make their voice heard on the subject. Earlier, the only woman on the panel was Rajya Sabha member Sushmita Deb.

Currently, the minimum age requirement is 18 for women and 21 for men. The proposal for this new amendment was to initiate a dialogue where women can be as old as 21 just like men to be able to get married. The intention behind this proposal is to bring women equal footing in society when it comes to decisions relayed to marriages, a step that eventually affects a lot of parameters.

Earlier in April, MP Supriya Sule introduced a private members' bill as the same-sex marriage bill in an attempt to provide necessary recognition and support to same-sex couples in India and legalise their marriages. Sule stated that members of the LGBTQIA+ communities should be given the same legal rights to get married just like heterosexual couples have.