The Indian government proposes to raise the minimum legal marriage age for women: Should we be happy?
DISCLAIMER: This is a citation bomb warning. I am citing some research literature but, kindly read through till the end. The Prime Minister’s Cabinet in India recently agreed to raise the minimum age of marriage for women from 18 years to 21 years, bringing it to the same level as that of men. In a statement released on Twitter , the health ministry explained that the measure “would provide more time for completion of education for the girls and prepare them physiologically and psychologically to shoulder the responsibility of marriage and children”. Empirical economic literature does confirm that, for women, a delay in age at marriage raises educational attainment, reduces desired and actual fertility and improves child health and educational outcomes (Field & Ambrus, 2008; Jensen and Thornton, 2010; Chari et. al.,2017). [1] What’s interesting is that average age of marriage in India has already been rising naturally and currently stands at 22 years . So, it can’t hurt to s...