In the last 15 days of December 2021, many Muslim families in the country rushed through the marriage ceremonies of their daughters originally scheduled for mid-2022 or later. Panic weddings for women in the 18-20 age group were witnessed in Telangana, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat, among other places. Many Muslim families were fearful that the Centre’s Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill 2021, if converted into law, will delay their daughters’ marriage for two to three years. The legislation that seeks to raise the minimum legal age of marriage for women to 21 from the present 18 has been sent to a parliamentary committee for deliberation.
The distress-driven ceremonies have also led to many Muslim families suffering a financial crisis. So, a lot of parents postponed their daughters’ vidai (send-off) even after nikah (wedding). Brides’ parents need 3-4 months for their daughters’ farewell.
News18 contacted some parents and newlywed couples from the Muslim community in several states. Samiullah Khan, a resident of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, said the family planned his younger daughter’s marriage ceremony in May 2022 after Eid-ul-Fitr. But then they came to know about the bill, which, if implemented, will apply to all communities.
Abdul Jabbar, a newlywed groom from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, told News18 that his wedding was planned for June 15, 2022, but it was advanced to December 29, 2021, as some community scholars informed about the new bill.
Dilshad Begum, a newlywed bride from Hyderabad’s old city in Telangana, said that her marriage was fixed with Mohammad Ayaan of Warangal, and they planned a nikah ceremony for April 9, 2022, as her father is arriving from Qatar in the last week of March. But some relatives of the groom suggested that the wedding be expedited because of the proposed law. My mother conducted my nikah on December 31, 2021.
When News18 spoke to Dilshad’s mother Nishat Samreen, she said that due to the hurried marriage ceremony, they postponed the shopping for jewellery and clothes for the newlyweds as they didn’t have the money. So they didn’t complete Dilshad’s vidai. Nishat hopes that will happen once her husband Mohammad Khaleel arrives from Qatar.
‘No need for panic weddings’
The president of Tehreek-e-Muslim Shaban, Muhammad Mushtaq Malik, said Hyderabad witnessed panic weddings in December 2021 and Muslims suffered financial crises due to the rescheduling of the ceremonies. Malik has urged Muslims to conduct their daughters’ marriages as per schedule. While talking over the phone with News18, he said that the new bill to raise the minimum marriage age for women to 21 is unfortunate.
Malik says that all communities, irrespective of religion, are panicked because of the proposed change.
The founder of Socio-Reforms Society that fights against the exploitation of women’s families in the name of marriage, Dr Aleem Khan Falaki, said that the new bill is unethical for all religions.
He termed it the first step toward implementing a uniform civil code in India and argued that if the new bill becomes law, it will pave the way for more live-in relationships. It is a very harmful decision for India’s traditions, he said.
‘Law will take time’
Telangana High Court lawyer Mahesh Mamindla said that seven personal laws— the Hindu Marriage Act, the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, Indian Christian Marriage Act, the Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, the Foreign Marriage Act and the Special Marriage Act— have to be amended once the new bill is converted into law.
He added that the new bill violates fundamental rights and is an infringement of an individual’s privacy.
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