The Union Cabinet in December 2021 took the decision to raise the legal age of marriage for women from 18 to ___.

The correct answer is ​21.

Key Points

• The Union Cabinet on 15 December 2021 took the decision to raise the legal age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years.
• The legal age of marriage for men is already 21 years.
• The government will amend the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, Special Marriage Act, and the Hindu Marriage Act to implement the new decision to increase the legal age of marriage of women.

Important Points

• The proposal was based on the recommendation of the NITI Aayog task force headed by Jaya Jaitly.
• Senior officials of the health ministry, women and child development ministry, and law ministry were members of the task force set up in June 2020.
• The task force was formed to examine matters pertaining to the age of motherhood, imperatives of lowering MMR (Maternal Mortality Rate), improvement of nutritional levels and related issues.
• The task force has also recommended that sex education be formalised and introduced in the school curriculum.

Additional Information

• Personal laws of various religions that deal with marriage have their own standards, often reflecting custom.
• For Hindus, The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 sets 18 years as the minimum age for the bride and 21 years as the minimum age for the groom.
• In Islam, the marriage of a minor who has attained puberty is considered valid.
• The Special Marriage Act, 1954 and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 also prescribe 18 and 21 years as the minimum age of consent for marriage for women and men, respectively.
• For the new age of marriage to be implemented, these laws are expected to be amended.