Vote against government’s proposal to raise age of marriage, MPs told

We need policies to ensure gender equality, equal wages and safe workplaces, says open letter

Hundreds of girl citizens have written an open letter to parliamentarians urging them to vote against the government’s proposal to raise the age of marriage for women to 21 and have demanded that their agency to take decisions about their lives is not taken away. They also want the elected representatives to pursue policies that ensure gender equality.

“It is of course true that many girls among us and our sisters from across the country desire to get married at the age of 21 years or even after that. There are also sisters who desire to get married around 18 years; it is informed by their lived realities and contexts. What is critical for all of us is the right to take this decision ourselves. We believe that girls have complete freedom to choose if, when, who and how to marry,” according to the open letter drafted by 2,500 people who are part of the Young Voices National Movement.

Last year, representatives of this campaign also appeared before the task force headed by ex-Samata Party Chief Jaya Jaitly and submitted a detailed report opposing raising the age of marriage. It is based on this task force’s recommendations that the Cabinet last week approved a proposal to raise the legal age of marriage for women to 21 and the government is expected to introduce a Bill on the issue during the ongoing session of Parliament.