Odisha little one fee voices concern over Centre’s bid to lift marriage age of girls to 21 years

By PTI

BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR) has expressed concern over the Centre’s bid to lift the minimal marriage age of women to 21 years, mentioning that a number of schemes and the POCSO Act have the scope of extending help to kids solely as much as 18 years of age.

It additionally famous that the transfer, if applied, will override current customs, practices and utilization.

In a letter to Vinay P Sahasrabuddhe, the chairperson of Parliament Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth & Sports, the OSCPCR on Tuesday prompt that the minimal age of marriage for boys, as an alternative, ought to be made 18 years.

“I humbly request you to kindly consider not raising the legal age of marriage of girls to 21, rather keeping 18 as the minimum legal age for both boys and girls,” OSCPCR chief Sandhyabati Pradhan urged the Sahasrabuddhe-led panel.

ALSO READ | Marriage age of girls to be raised from 18 to 21, invoice in Parliament quickly

The Prohibition of Child Marriage Bill, 2021, which has proposed a uniform rule for all communities, was launched in Lok Sabha on December 21, 2021.

It was afterward despatched to the Parliamentary Standing Committee for evaluate.

If enacted, this proposed modification will redefine ‘little one’ to incorporate female and male who haven’t accomplished 21 years of age.

Pradhan, within the letter, stated, “That change of laws in isolation won’t ever have the ability to cease little one marriage, until there may be socio-behavioural change amongst mother and father and group.

Factors like misery and poverty, patriarchal norms and practices, lack of alternative for education, employment and the like are nonetheless contributing to a big extent within the prevalence of kid marriage.

ALSO READ | Address poverty, schooling to curb little one marriage

Stating that there’s additionally a must strengthen households by offering applicable livelihood alternatives, she drew consideration to the truth that the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection Act and programmes just like the Integrated Child Protection Scheme have the scope of extending help to weak kids solely until the age of 18 years.

In such circumstances, there will likely be no house to supply help to a bride or groom between the age of 19 to 21 years if rescued from little one marriage, she claimed.

“Act like POCSO has restricted consensual sex up to the age of 18. This implies that someone may have sexual act after 18 but won’t be able to marry till 21. This will create new sets of issues like increasing unwed mothers and foeticide thereafter,” the fee chief stated.

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Pradhan maintained that the OSCPCR is spearheading a motion to finish little one marriage in Odisha by 2030.

A high-powered state committee has been shaped to facilitate the method by bringing collectively many authorities and non-government stakeholders.

The OSCPCR chairperson stated she has spoken to totally different stakeholders, together with youngsters, earlier than taking over the matter with the Parliament committee.