The Himachal Pradesh Assembly on Tuesday passed a bill to raise the minimum age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years, Bar and Bench reported.

The Prohibition of Child Marriage Himachal Pradesh Amendment Bill 2024, introduced by Health, Social Justice, and Empowerment Minister Dhani Ram Shandil, was passed in the Assembly by voice vote. It will now be sent to Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla for his assent.

The bill seeks to amend the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. The minimum age of marriage under the Act for women is 18 years and for men is 21.

Shandil, while tabling the bill in the Assembly, said it was necessary to increase the minimum age of marriage for women to ensure gender equality and provide opportunities to them, The Indian Express reported.

Early marriages hindered girls’ education and ability to progress in life, he said. Early pregnancies and motherhood also negatively impacted their health, Shandil added.

The bill stated that early marriages acted as a hindrance to the progress of a woman’s career and her physical development, according to Bar and Bench.

Following its passage in the Assembly, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu told The Hindu that the bill displayed the intent of the Congress-led government in the state to serve the best interests of women.

“We are the first state in the country to enact the legislation to increase the marriage age of girls to 21,” he said. “The Congress has always been at the forefront to work towards the betterment of women.”

Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Reena Kashyap also said the bill was much needed. “At the age of 21, the youth, especially women, are mature enough mentally and physically to get married,” she said, according to ANI. “The bill is a significant step forward.”

In December 2021, the Centre introduced a similar legislation – the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021 – to increase the minimum age of marriage of women to 21 years.

It was sent to a parliamentary standing committee for further discussion. The committee had received multiple extensions to submit its findings. However, the bill lapsed with the dissolution of the 17th Lok Sabha on June 5.

Critics argue that the assumption that raising the age of marriage will eradicate child marriage is not supported by prior evidence. Child marriages continued to take place without any fear of the law even when the legal age was set at 18, they have said.

They also argue that increasing the age to 21 will bring more consenting adults who choose to marry under the threat of harassment from disapproving parents or families and could become a tool for people to oppose inter-religious and inter-caste marriages. It could also curtail the freedom of choice for women.

Also read: Raising the minimum legal age of marriage for women to 21 years is neither feasible nor promising