'If a girl can choose Prime Minister at age of 18, then why not partner'

AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday gave a rhetorical statement asking if a girl can vote at the age of 18, what is wrong with her getting married at the same age. His statement came after the government's recent decision of increasing the legal age of marriage for women to 21. He further suggested that the age of marriage for men should be reduced to 18 instead.

New Delhi:Asaduddin Owaisi, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP, made a rhetorical statement on Friday saying "if a girl can choose the Prime Minister at the age of 18, then why not a partner".

He said so while taking a dig at the Central Government on the recent decision of extending the legal age of marriage for girls from 18 to 21 years.

"This is a very good example of the paternalism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government. At the age of 18, an Indian citizen can sign contracts, start businesses, choose Prime Ministers and elect MPs and MLAs, but not get married."

He further suggested that instead of increasing the legal age of marriage for girls to 21, it should be reduced down to 18 for boys as well.

"In the Data Protection Bill, you have the right to share data but you can't choose a partner. What kind of logic is this? Even Supreme Court said that now privacy is a fundamental right. One can choose who to marry, one can choose when to have a child," Owaisi further added.

To support his argument, he said that there are many states in America where marriage is allowed after 14 years. In Britain and Canada, there is a right to marry at the age of 16.

He also added that reducing the legal age of marriage will not do anything for the upliftment of women.

"In India, child marriage has gone down not because of criminal law but because of education and a little bit of economic progress. Despite that, the Government scenes tell us that nearly 12 million children are getting married before the age of 18 years. This government has not done anything for the upliftment of women. The women participation in the workforce which was 26 per cent in 2005, in 2020 it came down to 16 per cent," he said, indicating that the government is incapable of upliftment of women.

He further suggested that the required age to contest Assembly Elections in India should be reduced down to 21 years, instead of the present 25 years of minimum requirement.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Union Cabinet cleared a proposal to raise the minimum age of marriage for women from 18 to 21. The government is likely to propose a bill in Parliament during the ongoing winter session.