Odisha Rights Body Against Marriage Age Raise For Women, Claims Itll Increase Foeticide, Unwed Mothers

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Odisha Rights Body Against Marriage Age Raise For Women, Claims It'll Increase Foeticide, Unwed Mothers

The panel said that the 19-21 age group females rescued from child marriages would be lurching because no laws support their age group. Acts and schemes such as the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection Act and the Integrated Child Protection Scheme exist for people up to 18 years of age; there is no extended support for child brides once they’re saved.

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The Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR) has opposed the centre's proposed law raising the marriage age for women from 18 to 21, claiming that it would give rise to foeticide cases and have more number of unwed mothers.

Raising the issue, OSCPCR head, Sandhyabati Pradhan, wrote a letter to Vinay P. Sahasrabuddhe, chairperson of the parliamentary standing committee on education, women, children, youth and sports.

No Laws Supporting Age Group Beyond 18

Pradhan said that the 19-21 age group females rescued from child marriages would be lurching because no laws support their age group.

Acts and schemes such as the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection Act and the Integrated Child Protection Scheme exist for people up to 18 years of age. She added that there is no extended support for child brides once they're saved.

Pradhan also mentioned that laws such as the child sex abuse law, POCSO prohibits consensual sex up to the age of 18, and not beyond that. "This implies that someone may have sexual act after 18 but won't be able to marry till 21 which will create new sets of issues like increasing unwed mothers and foeticide thereafter," Hindustan Times quoted the letter.

"The National Crime Record Bureau data says that only 785 cases have been registered under Prohibition of Child Marriage in 2020, which is 523 in 2019 and 501 in 2018. On the other hand, 23.3% of girls are marrying before the legal age as captured by NFHS-5 (National Family and Health Survey)," she said.

Focus On Root Causes

Pradhan said that the change in the Act or legislation would not stop child marriages unless there are actual social-behavioural changes in society. The government must target the root causes, including patriarchal norms, poverty, unemployment, lack of opportunity for schooling, primary livelihood, etc.

Also Read: After 'Bulli Bai' Muslim Women Auction, Netizens Unearth Telegram Group Targeting Hindu Women

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Writer : Devyani Madaik
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