GENDER JUSTICE IS KEY  TO  ACCOMPLISH A COUNTRY’S GOALS

 

PM Modi, in his 15 August speech, said a panel will look into the question of raising the minimum legal age of marriage for women. There has also been a demand for women to be given leave during their menstrual cycle.

• (Relevant for Sociology Syllabus: Paper 2 – Systems of Kinship in India)
• (Relevant for GS Syllabus: Paper1- Role of women and women‘s organization )

 WHAT IS THE DEBATE ON LEGAL AGE FOR MARRIAGE ?

• The government has mandated 18 years as the minimum legal age for women to marry and the same is 21 years for men. The reason for setting a legal minimum were aplenty.
• The major reasons were to prevent child marriage, abuse of women and early pregnancy—a severe health hazard for both the mother and the child.
• In 2019, the Delhi high court had also sought the government’s response to a plea that proposed a uniform age for marriage for both men and women.
• However, it is noteworthy that personal laws have different provisions, with the attainment of puberty being the qualifying criteria for marriage.

HOW WILL RAISING LEGAL AGE EMPOWER WOMEN?

• There are some well-known proven health implications of early marriage and motherhood. But the bigger concern is how to enforce these rules as child marriage continues to be rampant across the country.
• In this scenario, raising the minimum age for women will have a positive impact as parents would then be more likely to allow their daughters in villages to pursue college and other higher education degrees.
• The move would also encourage women to play a larger role outside their homes and will improve female labour force participation as they proactively look for employment opportunities.

WHAT  WILL BE THE BENEFITS OF HIGHER  FEMALE  PARTICIPATION?

• Having more women will boost workforce strength, which in turn will increase the gross domestic product. Studies also reveal how greater women’s participation results in an increase in productivity.
• It happens due to gender diversity, as women bring new skills to the table. There is evidence that women are better at multi-tasking, which makes them efficient across jobs.

WILL INCREASING THE MIN LEGAL AGE BE ENOUGH?

• Merely increasing the legal minimum age for women to get married may not be sufficient in encouraging greater participation.
• Nevertheless, what the move will do is have a positive impact on health outcomes and encourage more women to get educated. Outside of that, there is a real need to make the workplace more gender-sensitive.
• Some companies have already taken a lead in terms of instilling a gender-sensitive work-culture.  Zomato, for instance, recently introduced 10 days of “period leave” for its female staff.

WHAT ABOUT GENDER GAP PREVALENT IN INDIA?

• India has its work cut out. As per the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2020 rankings, India ranks 112 among 153 countries.
• China was ranked 106 while Iceland topped the table. Policies such as period leaves are instrumental in assisting women.
• And they make workplaces more gender-neutral. The focus on empowering women, along with greater sensitivity in private sector, could be instrumental in improving women’s participation.