Himachal Assembly passes bill raising marriage age for women from 18 to 21 years

The state assembly approved the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Himachal Pradesh Amendment Bill 2024) by voice vote, which aims to raise the marriageable age for women.

The Himachal Pradesh Assembly, on August 27, approved the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Himachal Pradesh Amendment Bill 2024), which raises the legal marriage age for women from 18 to 21 years. The bill was passed by voice vote on the first day of the two-week monsoon session.

Introduced by Health, Social Justice, and Empowerment Minister Dhani Ram Shandil, the bill aims to amend the Child Marriage Act of 2006. Although initially presented during the February budget session, it was not passed at that time.

The bill will now be forwarded to Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla for assent. If signed into law, Himachal Pradesh will become one of the first states to implement this significant change.

Minister Shandil stated that the amendment is necessary to ensure gender equality and provide greater educational opportunities for women. He noted that early marriages hinder girls' education and development, and early pregnancies affect their health. The proposed amendment seeks to address these issues by increasing the minimum marriage age to 21.

The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which sought to raise the minimum marriage age for women to 21 years, was introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2021. The bill was referred to the standing committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth, and Sports, which received several extensions to review the bill over time. Earlier this year, a central bill intended to standardise the marriage age for both men and women at 21 lapsed with the dissolution of the 17th Lok Sabha.