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Credit: pxhere, Facebook (Syed Hasan), Lok Sabha
'If She Can Vote At 18, Why Can't She Get Married?': Samajwadi Party MPs' Reservation On Marriage Age
Writer: Devyani Madaik
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India, 18 Dec 2021 10:35 AM GMT | Updated 18 Dec 2021 10:38 AM GMT
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While he is a massive sports fanatic, his interest also lies in mainstream news and nitpicking trending and less talked about everyday issues.
Creatives : Devyani Madaik
A media enthusiast, Devyani believes in learning on the job and there is nothing off limits when it comes to work. Writing is her passion and she is always ready for a debate as well.
He said a girl should be married once she attains the age of fertility, starting at 16 to 30 years of age. The politician said the delay might increase the possibility of infertility. Secondly, if a girl bores children late, they would not be settled; they would still be students while the parents are in the last decade of life. While Hasan linked marriage to fertility, MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq termed it a cause of poverty in India.
Another wildly sexist speech has been delivered by politicians after the recent incident in Karnataka K R Ramesh Kumar. Two Samajwadi Party MPs have drawn criticism for their reservation on the union cabinet's recent proposal of increasing the legal age of women for marriage from 18 to 21.
Breaking Natural Cycle By Increasing Age
In a recent interaction with the media, MP Syed Tufail Hasan justified his objection to increasing the age limit due to reasons related to fertility. Hasan said by raising the age, they were breaking the natural cycle.
According to him, a girl should be married once she attains the age of fertility, starting at 16 to 30 years of age. The politician said that proposals start popping up by 16, and the delay in that might increase the possibility of infertility. Secondly, if a girl bores children late, they would not be settled; they would still be students while the parents are in the last decade of life.
The politician went on to say that if a girl was mature to vote at the age of 18, she can also get married.
"I believe that when a girl is mature and attains the age of fertility, she should get married. If a girl is mature at 16, she can marry as well. If she can vote at 18, why can't she get married?" NDTV quoted him as saying.
Cause Of Poverty
While one linked marriage to fertility in women, the other termed it a cause of poverty in India. MP Shafiqur Rahman Barq that we are a poor country and everybody here wants to marry off their daughters early. Hence, he will not support the Bill in Parliament.
Party Leader Makes Distance
As soon as the comments drew backlash, chief Akhilesh Yadav distanced and stressed that the party did not represent such viewpoints and was progressive. The party has launched several welfare and development schemes for women and girls.
The centre, on Wednesday (December 15), decided to raise the legal age of marriage of women from 18 to 21 to bring uniformity in the marriageable age of men and women. The amendments will be tabled in the ongoing winter session of Parliament.
Also Read: 'We Men Need To Do Better": Karnataka Congress Chief Apologises For MLA's 'Rape' Remarks
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