The Uniform Civil Code bill introduced in the Uttarakhand Assembly proposes a universal marriageable age of 18 years for women and 21 years for men across religions and communities. The Scheduled Tribes, however, remain exempt from the draft law.
The BJP government said it aims to ban child marriage, but stopped short of outlawing the practice among Tribals that make up nearly 3% of Uttarakhand's population.
Policy experts and women's rights activists hoped that marriageable age for men and women would be brought at par with each other at 21 years. The government, however, chose to retain the current norm of a lower marriageable age for women at 18 years.
The UCC bill also seeks to ensure equal rights to men and women in marriage, divorce, adoption and inheritance, and ban polygamy across communities.