NEW DELHI: Raising concerns about the lone woman in the 31-member Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, Maharashtra MP Priyanka Chaturvedi wrote a letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu on Monday.
The parliamentary panel headed by BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Sahastrabuddhe, to which the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill seeks to raise the legal age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 has been referred to, will start its deliberations soon.
The 31-member Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports has lone woman Rajya Sabha from All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC) Sushmita Dev.
"I am writing this letter to you as a concerned Member of Parliament. In the winter session of the parliament, a crucial bill impacting the lives of women across the country was introduced- The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill. This bill seeks to raise the legal age of marriage from 18 to 21 for women. After being introduced in the Lok Sabha it was sent to the Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports. However, the committee has only one female Member of Parliament as a Member," Chaturvedi said in the letter, tweeting a picture of it.
"This is disheartening to note that a bill so pertinent to women and the Indian society will be deliberated upon in a committee where the representation is highly skewed. Therefore, I request you to ensure that there should be more representation and participation of women in the discussion around bill that concerns the issues faced by women in India. It is of utmost importance that the interests of all stakeholders are taken into account and that voices of all, especially women are heard and understood by the committee," Chaturvedi, who is also a Shiv Sena leader, said.
Meanwhile, Dev told ANI, "I was very surprised that I'm the only woman member in the Committee that is related to the woman and child development Ministry which is the nodal ministry for the bill. There is gender imbalance no doubt. The marriage age bill needs the views of all stakeholders especially women leaders. I will appeal to Chairman that all women MPs should be allowed to give their views and suggestions regarding the said bill the committee chairman."
She further also stressed for the discussion required a variety of data related to the correct age of marriage community wise. It is a personal law that needs diverse inputs.
"There are many communities in India, there are ancient customs regarding marriage in their community, which is also very important to know about. In the upcoming meeting, I anticipate that scientific data and psychological and sociological inputs in from the entire country for legal marriage age which are necessary for discussion will be heard," Sushmita Dev said.
The MP said that she was very surprised when she found the lone member in the committee. "Why other political parties didn't send women members to the Standing Committee which is formed for Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports. I am very grateful to the party and Mamata Banerjee who has selected me for the committee," Dev said.
A meeting has been scheduled on January 5 of the Parliamentary standing committee on 'Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports' to hear the views of Secretary, Ministry of Culture on the subject "Reforms in the Education of Performing and Fine Arts" and to decide the future course of action of the Committee.