Bill to raise legal marriage age for women lapses as 17th Lok Sabha dissolves
New Delhi (PTI): With the dissolution of the 17th Lok Sabha, a bill that aimed to bring uniformity in the age of marriage for men and women has lapsed.
The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021 was introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2021 and was referred to the standing committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports.
The standing committee received multiple extensions over a period of time.
Citing provisions of law and Constitution, former Lok Sabha Secretary-General and Constitution expert P D T Acharya told PTI that with the dissolution of the 17th Lok Sabha, "the bill has now lapsed".
The bill aimed to amend the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 to increase the minimum age of marriage of females to 21 years.
Further, the Bill would have overridden any other law, custom, or practice.
Under the 2006 Act, a person married below the minimum age may apply for annulment within two years of attaining majority (i.e., before 20 years of age). The Bill increases this to five years (i.e., 23 years of age).
The 17 Lok Sabha was dissolved after the members of the 18th Lok Sabha were elected in the general elections.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
