Those Wacky Heterosexuals

Highest Court Rules Het Marriage Contracts For 15-Year-Olds Valid In India

Sunday, June 8th, 2008

On October 5, 2005, the New Delhi, India High Court declared “valid” marriages contracted between 15-year-old children. The judges said the marriage cannot be contested if it takes place “by free will” because the fifteenth birthday is “the age of personal discretion” in India, and therefore such a union would be “valid, enforceable and recognizable in courts of law.”

John Dayal, president of the All India Catholic Union and member of the National Council for Integration, said, “At 15 years, some girls would have just attained puberty, but others would not. Marriage at this age means an assault on reproductive organs which are often not yet mature.”

Delhi’s Catholic Archbishop, Vincent Concessao, told AsiaNews: “I am concerned; the status of women in our country will deteriorate further. It is worrying that a girl of 15 years will have to assume the responsibility of wife and mother, whilst still a child herself. In today’s context, a girl has to be able to look after herself in case of any eventuality, and a girl cannot do so at 15. She may not even have completed basic school education.”