Telangana State Waqf Board Chairman Mohammed Saleem on Tuesday convened a meeting with qazis of the State to discuss the implications of the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill which seeks to increase the age of marriage of women from 18 year to 21 years.
Qazis, and the process of solemnising Muslim marriages, attached to the TSWB by means of the Qazath Section.
Mr Saleem said the Bill is now being scrutinised by a parliamentary panel which will take a decision. He emphasised that at this juncture, the age at which women can get married remains 18 years. He stressed that coming to a conclusion for the parliamentary panel is time consuming.
Mr Saleem urged the qazis to allay fears, if any, of the men and women who are about to get married. He urged qazis to counsel such couple and families in case there exist questions in connection with the proposed raising of the age of marriage.
The TSWB Chairman said that an association of qazis of the State informed him that they would be submitting a memorandum on the issue. This would, he said, would be carefully examined.
Mr Saleem said that he would ensure that the Bill is withdrawn, and that he would inform Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao of the issue. He also said that a memorandum would be sent to President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister of Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi .
