Muslim girls’ marriage

The issue of the minimum age of marriage of Muslim girls often comes up in courts, underscoring the conflict between the common law and the Islamic law (Sharia), as also the need to reconcile the two. While the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, Special Marriage Act, 1954, and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, prescribe 18 years as the minimum age of consent for marriage for women, the age for Muslim women is when they attain puberty and it is presumed to be 15 years. Even the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act does not provide for those under 18 years to consent to sex. These penal provisions essentially seek to tackle social evils by prohibiting child marriage and preventing sexual abuse of minors. Notably, social indices such as women’s nutrition, education and maternal mortality and the health of newborn babies are also directly related to the age of marriage. Why should the Muslim girls be denied this protective umbrella?

The Supreme Court is at present seized of two such matters. One, an appeal of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights against a June 2022 judgment of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which has, in accordance with the Muslim Personal Law, upheld a 15-year-old Muslim girl’s marriage with a person of her choice. Two, a petition filed by the National Commission for Women to make the minimum age of marriage for Muslim girls the same as that of girls of other religions. That the SC has agreed to examine the first plea and sought a reply from the Centre in the second case is commendable, for it is indicative of a review and correction of the present state of affairs.

This view also conforms to that of the government, which has formed a parliamentary committee to ensure that the girls no longer suffer from malnutrition and are married off at the right age. Just as the discriminatory Islamic practice of triple talaq was outlawed, it is time the marriage of Muslim girls under 18 years is struck off as being violative of the common law.

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