Government with its legislation put a building block for a a constructive,efficacious and beneficial change in a society. The Union cabinet has approved major reform of increasing the legal marriage age from 18 to 21 for girls same as men.

What does this mean for India's 600 million women? Should we celebrate it then ?
Yes we should, this move is a victory for women empowerment and harbinger of equality.

Early marriages are not a good idea, families in India wait for their daughter to turn 18 when she does she is married off. No education,no financial independence, no experience of outside world she is pushed into a relationship which she may or may not want. And with early marriages comes early pregnancy and associated health risks leading to physical, psychological, mental deterioration.

At such embryonic age she is not equipped to deal with all of these problems and above all how state can let her deal with such horrors.

Arguments put forth against raising legal marriage talks about negligible changes that these three years can make in girls life, such contestations are fully flawed whereas these three years can make her complete her graduation paving way for jobs and getting eligible for so many exams. And education in itself is powerful tool to fight many challenges in life along with holistic development. Ensuing this, financial independence will empower her to reject men who will demand dowry, who will perpetrate violence on her. This flies in the face of people who think and consider women as burden (paraya dhan).

Raising legal marriage age is not unidimensional, it will help in lowering maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate as well as improvement of nutritional level and sex ratio at birth as this would promote possibilities of responsible parenthood for both father and mother making them more capable of taking better decisions for themselves and their children.

Better psychological, physical, mental development can lead to increase in productivity of a person. It can also abate cases of domestic violence by way of of proper development of cognitive skills, maturity level and education. Less cases of female foeticide as educated and mature women can take decision for herself and her pregnancy rather than her in laws forcing their decision on her. Most importantly financial independence and there is no substitute for financial independence.

So raising legal marriage age is multifarious in empowering women.This reform is to put a setback on stereotypical and patriarchal thinking that men and women are not equal. Increasing legal marriage age is a dominant strategy for social good and financially empowering women and bringing equality in the society.

Women don't need to find their voice they already have it instead it is a society that need to be urged to listen hence everyone should welcome this progressive and pragmatic reform.