khiyar-ul-bulugh
Under Muslim law, a marriage contracted for a minor by a guardian may be repudiated by the minor on attaining puberty. For a wife, the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939 puts this on a statutory basis: she may obtain a decree of dissolution if she was given in marriage by her father or other guardian before she attained fifteen, she repudiated the marriage before attaining eighteen, and the marriage was not consummated.
The repudiation by itself does not end the marriage; a court decree (or confirmation) is needed. Consummation after puberty, with consent, destroys the option. Today the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 also makes a child marriage voidable at the option of the child.
Example
Married off at fourteen, she exercised khiyar-ul-bulugh at sixteen and sued under Section 2(vii) of the 1939 Act.
In Indian law
- Section 2(vii), Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939
- Section 3, Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 (child marriage voidable)
See also
nikah · guardianship · minor · khula
Read more in the study notes
- Polygamy, child marriage and the option of puberty (Family Law II - Mohammedan Law)
- Talaq and the modes of dissolution of a Muslim marriage (Family Law II - Mohammedan Law)