Over the last few weeks, the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill has been a centre of debates across the country. The amendment, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha during the winter session, seeks to raise the legal age of marriage for women to 21 years, bringing it at par with men in the country. The amendment bill has now been referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports.
However, the Press Trust of India (PTI) has revealed that of the 31 members of parliament who are a part of this standing committee and have been assigned the critical task of examining this amendment, only one is a woman. The committee is led by senior BJP leader Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, and currently lists only TMC’s Sushmita Dev as the only woman member. Given how critical this piece of legislation is for women, perhaps more female representation in the committee that examines its pros and cons would be a good idea—and this sentiment has been echoed by Dev and some other MPs as well.
“I am the only female member in the Standing Committee which would be looking into the bill, but I will try my best to ensure that the Chairman of the Committee listens to every voice across the board,” Dev said. “I do wish there were more women MPs but I must say that my leader, Mamata Banerjee, has done it and sent a woman MP to this committee which is going to be considering the bill and I am open to listening to anybody.”
NCP’s Supriya Sule also reportedly agrees that more women MPs should be a part of this panel, a key focus of which is to deliberate on women’s issues. She also added that the Chairman of the committee has the power to invite other MPs to the panel at his discretion, and should perhaps do so, in this case, to make the discussion more wide and inclusive.