Rajasthan Allows Registration Of Child Marriages – Free PDF Download

What has happened?

• The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday charged that the Rajasthan Compulsory Registration
• of Marriages (Amendment) Bill, 2021,
• Which was passed in the state assembly by voice vote to amend a 2009 Act on mandatory registration of marriages within 30 days of the union, will legitimise child marriages.
• The Opposition also staged a walkout despite parliamentary affairs minister Shanti Kumar Dhariwal defending the Bill by saying that the registration of child marriage does not mean giving validity to it.
• He also assured that that action will be taken against those who organise child marriages even after registering it.

SC judgement in 2006

• The minister also told the House that the Supreme Court in its 2006 judgment in Seema vs Ashwini Kumarhad directed that registration of all types of marriages should be made mandatory.
• He said registration of child marriages is not meant to legitimise them and insisted that if a minor is married, then upon becoming major he or she will have the right to annul the marriage.

What the bill says?

• The assembly passed the Rajasthan Compulsory Registration of Marriages (Amendment) Bill, 2021,
• Which amends the Rajasthan Compulsory Registration of Marriages Act, 2009, on Friday and under which,
• Information on child marriage must be furnished by their parents or guardians within 30 days of the wedding.
• Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) questioned the need for the registration of child marriages and demanded the withdrawal of the bill.
• “If child marriage is banned, then how can they include child marriage under this Bill? All this is done by Congress for vote bank politics.”
• “It will be a black day for the assembly if this bill is passed. Does the assembly permit us to unanimously allow child marriages?
• By a show of hands, we will be permitting child marriages. The bill will write a black chapter in the history of the assembly,” BJP MLA Ashok.

What the govt says?

• Parliamentary affairs minister Shanti Kumar Dhariwal defended the legislation saying, “the Bill does not say that child marriage is valid.
• The Bill says that after marriage, only registration is necessary.
• It does not imply that child marriage is valid.
• If the district collector wants, he or she can still take action against the child marriages.”
• Furthermore, Dhariwal said the legislation would now allow registration to be done at the level of District Marriage Registration Officer as well as Additional District Marriage Registration Officer and Block Marriage Registration Officer level.
• He said “these officers will be able to monitor and review the work of registration. This will make it easier for the general public to register. This will bring simplicity and transparency to the work.”
• He also contended that the marriage registration certificate was a legal document and without it widows were not able to get the benefits of many schemes.
• With the compulsory registration, he said, either party or both parties in the marriage will be able to apply for marriage registration and get the certificate.

Child marriages in India

• Nationwide data is not available yet but estimates suggest that each year,
• At least 1.5 million girls under 18 get married in India, which makes it home to the largest number of child brides in the world –accounting for a third of the global total.
• While the prevalence of girls getting married before age 18 has declined from 47% to 27% between 2005-2006 and 2015-2016 it is still too high.
• The decline may be the result of multiple factors such as increased literacy of mothers, better access to education for girls, strong legislation and migration from rural areas to urban centres.
• Increased rates of girls’ education, proactive government investments in adolescent girls, and strong public messaging around the illegality of child marriage and the harm it causes are also among the reasons for the shift.
• At the global level, child marriage is included in Goal 5 “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”
• Under Target 3 “Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation”.

Q) Which country has the highest rates of child marriage?

1. Bangladesh
2. India
3. Niger
4. Mexico

Latest Burning Issues | Free PDF

Sharing is caring!