New Delhi: Trinamool Congress MP Sushmita Dev, who is the only woman member of the parliamentary standing committee probing the bill to raise the legal age of marriage for women, has sought inclusion of all women MPs in its meetings.
Sushmita Dev has written to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports Speaker, Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, to implement a rule that would allow all women MPs to testify before the panel, PTI reported.
While there are 29 women members in the Rajya Sabha, there are 81 in the Lok Sabha.
A 31-member parliamentary standing committee, of which 30 are male MPs, will decide whether the age of marriage should be raised to 21. Mrs. @priyankac19 has written to @VPSecretariat Please ensure a more women inclusive panel to consider decisions affecting women of India pic.twitter.com/AWUo8DV1kD
— Office Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@Priyanka_Office) 3 January 2022
The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which proposes to increase the legal age of marriage for women from 18 to 21, was introduced in the Lok Sabha in the winter session of Parliament.
Sushmita Dev’s letter said, “These standing committees were reconstituted a few months back, and at present, I am the only woman member in the 31-member committee.”
“With reference to this, and under rules 84(3) and 275 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha), I would like to propose that any woman member of both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on the issue Right to testify before the committee either in writing or in person,” she said in the letter.
Read | Bill introduced in Lok Sabha to increase the legal age of marriage for women from 18 to 21
“I am sure that all my female colleagues will have a lot to contribute to the discussion on this issue. I request you to open the committee meetings on this issue for the testimonials of any honorable women members. Use the powers of your office. And request you to allot time accordingly,” she said.
On Monday, Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi wrote to Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu to ensure “a more women-inclusive panel to deliberate on the decision affecting the women of India”.
“The 31-member Parliamentary Standing Committee, of which 30 are male MPs, will decide the fate of women whether the age of marriage should be raised to 21 or not… It is of utmost importance that the interests of all stakeholders are kept in mind and those Voices are heard and understood by all, especially women, by the committee,” Chaturvedi wrote.
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