Personal law bill to be amended
The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed the Personal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2010, seeking amendments in the Guardians and Wards Act (GWA), 1890 and the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act (HAMA) of 1956. The bill allows the mother along with the father to be appointed as a natural guardian and also aims at removing hurdles in the way of a married woman to adopt.
Replying to a debate in the Rajya Sabha on the issue, law minister Veerappa Moily said “identity of the women needs to be reasserted”. He also assured the House that the Centre is committed to bring the women’s reservation bill in the Lok Sabha even if there will be a “turmoil” like it happened in the Rajya Sabha when the bill was passed.
The minister said the Centre also proposes to make marriage registration compulsory. Under the existing act, only the father is considered to be the natural guardian of the child in a Hindu family for adoption and guardianship and only unmarried, divorced women and widows are allowed to adopt a child.
“It (the bill) will have a far reaching impact on bringing gender equality and gender neutrality,” Mr Moily said. He said it sends the message that parliamentary democracy has matured and the psyche has changed.
“We should take a pledge, particularly men, that we should never allow our women to be degraded and looked down. Male chauvinism and dominance should disappear,” Mr Moily said. On demand from the BJP for a uniform civil code, the minister said, “Uniform civil code is not possible as it requires changes in Personal Laws of the Minority Community.
Earlier, participating in the debate, BJP member M. Venkaiah Naidu demanded a common civil code and setting up of a commission or sub-committee to study the matter.
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