New Delhi / Mumbai: Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi on Monday took strong objection to the fact that the Parliament has the responsibility of further investigation of the bill to increase the legal age of marriage of girls to 21 years. Has been assigned to the 31-member committee, in which there is only one woman MP.
In a letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, Chaturvedi, a member of Rajya Sabha from Maharashtra, said, “It is a matter of desperation that this bill relating to women and Indian society will be discussed by a committee in which representation is very unfair.” Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader and Lok Sabha MP Kanimozhi also objected to the lack of proper representation of women in the committee.
She tweeted, “There are a total of 110 women MPs, but the government has submitted a bill affecting every girl in the country to a committee consisting of only one woman and 30 men. Men will continue to decide the rights of women and women will remain mere spectators?
A 31 Member Parliamentary Standing Committee of which 30 are male MPs will decide if marriage age should be raised to 21. Smt. @priyankac19 has written to @VPSecretariat to kindly ensure a more woman inclusive panel to deliberate on a decision impacting India’s women pic.twitter.com/AWUo8DV1kD
— Office Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@Priyanka_Office) January 3, 2022
Expressing concern over the lack of proper representation of women in the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, Chaturvedi urged Naidu to ensure maximum participation of women in the discussion on the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill. .
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The Parliamentary Standing Committee headed by senior BJP leader Vinay Sahasrabuddhe has a total of 31 members and Trinamool Congress MP Sushmita Dev is the only woman. Chaturvedi wrote in her letter, “Therefore, I urge you that maximum participation of women should be ensured during the discussion on the bill as this bill is related to the problems of women of the country.”
A 31 Member Parliamentary Standing Committee of which 30 are male MPs will decide the fate of women to decide if marriage age should be raised to 21. I have written to @VPSecretariat to kindly ensure a more woman inclusive panel to deliberate on a decision impacting India’s women pic.twitter.com/Rs4e8sHx1E
— Priyanka Chaturvedi🇮🇳 (@priyankac19) January 3, 2022
In this bill brought by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, there is a proposal to increase the legal age of marriage from 18 to 21 years. When contacted, Dev said it would have been better if there were more women MPs in the committee. “I wish there were more women MPs in the committee, but we will ensure that all stakeholder groups are heard,” Dev said.
The proposed law will be applicable to all communities in the country and once implemented, it will replace the existing marriage and ‘personal law’. The introduction of the Bill in the Winter Session of Parliament was opposed by some members and demanded that it be sent to a Standing Committee of Parliament for detailed deliberation and examination of future amendments.