"Need Outright Ban On Child Marriage": New Rajasthan Law Sparks Concerns
NDTV
Passed last week in the assembly, the bill has led to a huge uproar in the state and those fighting against child marriages and girls who had been victims of child marriage say this is a retrograde bill.
NGOs and social groups working for women's rights and against child marriage have written to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, objecting to the state's Marriages Amendment Bill 2021 that has said that all marriages including those of minors must be registered. In the case of minors, the bill says, their parents or guardians must register the marriages.
Passed last week in the assembly, this has led to a huge uproar in the state and those fighting against child marriages and girls who had been victims of child marriage say this is a retrograde bill.
The question is, by making registration of all marriages compulsory in Rajasthan including the marriage of minors, is the Rajasthan government giving backdoor legitimacy to child marriages in the state?
The government says it is following a Supreme Court directive which says all marriages should be registered and it's securing the rights of child widows and even children born of child marriages.
