Gujarat’s Proposal to Mandate Parental Consent for Marriage Draws Sharp Criticism from Women’s Organisation
Bengaluru: The Akhil Bharatiya Janavadi Mahila Sanghatana has strongly condemned the Gujarat government’s proposed amendment to the Gujarat Registration of Marriages Act, 2006, which seeks to make parental consent mandatory for marriages. The organisation has termed the move a regressive attempt to control the autonomy and personal choices of young adults, particularly women.
The proposed amendment would require couples to declare whether they have informed their parents about their marriage and grants officials the authority to notify parents during the registration process. The organisation argues this directly undermines the constitutional right to privacy and personal autonomy guaranteed to every adult citizen.
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“The state government’s proposal is a blatant attempt to regulate the choices, sexuality and autonomy of young people, especially women. It denies adults any authority and control over their own bodies, even in intimate matters,” stated Chandrakumari, President of the organisation, and Devi, State Secretary, in a joint statement.
“ಮದುವೆಗೆ ಪೋಷಕರ ಒಪ್ಪಿಗೆ ಕಡ್ಡಾಯಗೊಳಿಸುವ ಗುಜರಾತ್ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಪ್ರಸ್ತಾವನೆ ‘ಸಂವಿಧಾನ ವಿರೋಧಿ’: ಮಹಿಳಾ ಸಂಘಟನೆ ಆಕ್ಷೇಪ”
Constitutional Violations and Judicial Precedents
The women’s organisation emphasised that the proposal stands in complete violation of several landmark Supreme Court judgments. In the Justice K.S. Puttaswamy case, the Supreme Court explicitly ruled that the right to privacy includes the right to choose whom to live with and establish relationships with. One of the judges in that case clarified that “privacy at its core includes the preservation of personal intimacies, the sanctity of family life, marriage, reproduction, the home and sexual orientation.”
Similarly, judgments in the Lata Singh and Hadiya cases have clearly established that adults do not require family consent to marry or convert. In fact, the Lata Singh judgment imposed strict guidelines on police to treat any obstruction to such marriages as a violation of law.
Concerns Over “Love Jihad” Narrative
The organisation expressed dismay that some AAP and Congress members have also supported the proposal. It noted that a deputy minister attempted to justify the amendment as a measure to stop “love jihad,” suggesting young women could be easily persuaded and “trapped” in such marriages.
The Sanghatana dismissed “love jihad” as a fabricated conspiracy theory designed to stop interfaith marriages, asserting that the Gujarat proposal appears aimed at preventing inter-caste marriages as well. “In a country where hundreds of young people face crime, harassment and murder daily in the name of ‘honour’, proposing such a law is deeply distressing and inhuman,” the statement added.
Demand for Withdrawal
The organisation has demanded that the Gujarat government immediately withdraw the proposed amendment, calling it a reflection of the Manuvadi and Hindutva ideology that places even adult women in unequal and subordinate positions. It urged the government to treat young women and men with dignity and respect their constitutional rights to make personal choices.
