Samsatha Kerala Jamiat-ul-Ulema, the principal body of Sunni scholars in Kerala has decided to oppose the proposal to increase the minimum legal age of marriage for women in the country to 21 years, it is currently 18 years. The proposal had been mentioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address. A committee has also been formed for this and a task force to assess the situation has already been notified by the Union Ministry for Women and Child Development.
The government believes that increasing legal age for marriage will empower girls and young women, by augmenting their access to education. Several activists and civil society workers have pointed out how raising the age of marriage will not really impact issues of health, maternal and infant mortality or access to education. However, apart from other reasons, Samastha had a rather regressive reason for opposing this: it may result in more “premarital affairs” and “illicit relationships”.
A meeting of Samastha Kerala Islam Matha Vidyabhyasa Board (SKIMVB) under Samsatha Kerala Jamiat-ul-Ulema held was held in at Chelari on Saturday, and members strongly opposed the potential change in law arguing that it will cause social and cultural issues among society.
Samastha leader and state secretary of Sunni Yuvajana Sangham (SYS) under Samastha, Abdusamad Pookkottur, said that unlike other religions, Islam strongly stands against pre-marital relationships and increasing the marriageable age of girls might eventually lead the youngsters into ‘anarchic relationships’.
Even now, we are confronted by several such cases and that makes us anxious about the outcome of the Centre mulling increasing the age of marriage for women, Abdusamad said. “If women are allowed to vote at the age of 18 years, why can’t they take a decision on her marriage or her life partner?”
Emphasising on the parents’ decision to “marry off” their daughters, Abdusamad added, “Even though the legal age is 18, there is no restriction for marrying at 21. If parents feel that their daughter is not mature enough at 18, they can marry her off at 21. At the same time, if a girl is mentally and physically matured enough to select a partner at the age of 18 years, her parents should be allowed to marry her off.”
“We are not arguing for child marriage. There is a public feeling against the Centre’s move. For us, marriage is not just a ritual, it is a sanctified bond,” he said, adding that increasing the minimum age of marriage will have negative consequences in our society. He said that the organisation will discuss the issues with the representatives of political parties and it will take proper steps to raise the issue in parliament if the government moves ahead with the decision.
A state level meeting of SYS held at Kozhikode recently also condemned the move. In the meeting it was pointed out that the decision regarding marriage is part of a person’s individual right and the right to marry is a component of right to life under article 21 of the Indian Constitution.
“It is illogical to increase the minimum age of marriage for girls to 21 in a country where voting rights are given at 18 itself. Any person who feels that he or she is mature enough should be able to select their way of life. It is suspected that there is a fascist agenda behind the fresh moves regarding marriageable age and population control. Strong protest ought to be raised against such moves,” says a statement issued at the meeting inaugurated by Panakkad Sadiqali Shihab Thangal, the Malappuram district president of the Indian Union Muslim League in Kerala.