The Age of Consent Act aimed to set a “reasonable” age limit below which the child bride was considered to be incapable of giving consent to consummation and protect her from physical coercion. The minimum age limit of cohabitation was set to 12 years in this bill, rising the earlier age of consent (10 years) by the Indian Penal Code. To understand the hindrances that this bill met, it is important to first examine the traditional Hindu marriage sacrament. The sacrament consisted of two parts: first, the wedding ceremony itself, which took place any time during the girl’s childhood; second, the garbhadhan (conception ceremony) which must take place within 16 days of the bride’s first menstruation. The garbhadhan “directly linked sexual intercourse with the sacred duty of procreation” (Kosambi, 1991). The Age of Consent bill challenged the custom of garbhadhan, since the girl could reach puberty before 12. This firm socioreligious foundation of child marriage derived its authority from Hindu legal texts like the Manusmriti, which announced women to be inherently evil and needed constant discipline from men. The concept of consent was rendered irrelevant in a marital relationship where a woman/child was given away as a gift by her father and became the property of her husband. Moreover, the first menstruation was seen as a sign from nature for the natural commencement of married life. The reformers who supported the Consent bill mainly argued to prevent physical harm of the child bride.
Sen recorded having to cover up for a child bride of eleven from an oil pressers’ family being raped to death (194). Her reaction was less about shock at the girl’s murder than about women’s helplessness at this situation. Thus, one could infer that the legal protection of the Act was very limited. Moreover, the child bride could experience psychological trauma that was not prevented by the Bill. As a child bride, Sen “quake[d] with fear and lost consciousness” after witnessing sexual intercourse (30).
Source:
Kosambi, Meera. “Girl-Brides and Socio-Legal Change: Age of Consent Bill (1891) Controversy.” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 26, no. 31/32, 1991, pp. 1857–1868. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41498538. Accessed 24 Feb. 2021.