Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 28: The Kerala government has decided to withdraw the controversial circular allowing registration of Muslim marriages below the existing minimum age limit of 21 for men and 18 for women.
The government conveyed the decision to the high court on Thursday in response to petitions filed by various organisations challenging the circular ?issued by the Local Self Government Secretary on June 12.
The counsel for the government told the court that a new order will be issued within two weeks.
The government had earlier maintained that the circular was intended to legalise the marriages of Muslim girls who were already married off below the age of 18 and not to promote child marriages.
The government said many registrars were not issuing certificates to males and girls who had married below the minimum marriageable age causing difficulties to such people. They were finding it difficult to get passports and other documents for migration to foreign countries for work.
The issue assumed a political dimension after the Indian Union Muslim League, which controls the Local Self Governance department, came forward to back the circular. The Bharatiya Janata Party and Left parties came out openly against it saying the party was trying to create two types of citizens in the county.
Several Muslim organisations and women’s leaders also came out against the circular saying that it would block the social, economic and educational growth of the women.
Many of them believed that the circular was meant to reduce the marriage age by circumventing legislations and court rulings.
Local Administration Minister Dr M K Muneer had sought to allay their fears by saying that the government would strictly implement the Act fixing the minimum marriageable age of males at 21 and women at 18. But most of the protestors were not convinced.
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