18 Again

Kerala government has withdrawn the order to reduce the legal age of marriage for Muslim women to 16.

After being pilloried for reducing the legal age of marriage for Muslim women to 16 through a circular (see ‘Knot a Sensible Thing to Do’, 8 July 2013), the Kerala government has withdrawn the order. Another circular reverts the age to 18, as for women of all other faiths in India. The reversion came into effect on 17 June 2013. Marriages of under-18 girls registered before that date will still be legal. According to data provided by the social welfare department, local bodies in Kerala got 1,015 applications to register ‘child marriages’ between 2008-2013. “Whatever happened [has] happened and restricting the legalisation process of marriages which have already happened will only make the married girl’s life miserable,” says MK Muneer, minister for social welfare.

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