All marriages in India have to be registered, the countrys apex Supreme Court directed Tuesday in an effort to curb the widespread practice of child marriages.
The court said the age of the bride and groom should be recorded while registering their marriage.
The federal and state governments were told to amend rules and procedures to make the directive effective within a three-month period.
So far religious marriage ceremonies in India are recognised and can be formally registered at later dates.
The court order followed a petition by the the National Commission for Women (NCW), an independent panel monitoring womens issues in the country.
Social activists and womens organisations say child marriages lead to gender discrimination and have a negative impact on reproductive health. They feel the Supreme Court judment may help in a major way in curbing the practice of child marriages.
The NCW said in its affidavit before the court that besides child marriages, compulsory registration would help prevent marriages without the consent of both bride and groom, restrain the practice of bigamy and polygamy and enable widows to claim their rights after the death of their husbands.
India already has legislation banning child marriages, but it has not proved very effective.
According to the UN Population Fund (UNFPAs) State of the World population 2005 report, over 50 per cent of Indias girls are married before they turn 18.
A survey conducted in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh in 1998 revealed that 14 per cent of all girls were married between the age of 10 and 14.
Most of these marriages take place among Indias economically and socially backward communities.
Kilde: The Push Journal
