New Delhi: Lok Sabha MP and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday termed as “ridiculous” and “paternalistic” the decision to raise the minimum age of marriage for women from 18 to 21. In a series of tweets, the Hyderabad Member of Parliament wrote that if 18-year-old men and women could contract, choose a prime minister and consent to sexual relations and live in partnership, they would be their life partners. Why can’t you choose?
“The Modi government has decided to raise the age of marriage for women to 21. This is the typical patriarchy that we have come to expect from the government. Can men and women of 18 years sign contracts, start businesses, choose the prime minister and elect MPs and MLAs but not marry? They can give consent for sexual relations and live-in partnership but cannot choose their life partner? just ridiculous. Both men and women should be legally allowed to marry at the age of 18 because for all other purposes they are treated as adults by law.
The Modi government has decided to increase the age of marriage for women to 21. This is the typical patriarchy that we have come to expect from the government. Can men and women of 18 years sign contracts, start businesses, choose the prime minister and elect MPs and MLAs but not marry? 1/n
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) December 17, 2021
He said that despite the law, child marriages were rampant, but only 785 criminal cases of child marriage were registered, while “every fourth woman in India was married before she turned 18.” He further wrote that the decline in child marriage was due to education and economic progress rather than criminal law.
Targeting the Prime Minister, he said,Had Modi been honest, he would have focused on increasing economic opportunities for women. Yet India is the only country where women’s participation in the workforce is declining. It fell from 26% in 2005 to 16% in 2020.”
Owaisi emphasized on educational outcomes for women to ensure autonomous decision making. He alleged that out of Rs 446.72 crore allocated as budget for the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao scheme, 79% was spent only on advertising.
,