India
Center launches campaign to combat child marriage, asks states to draw up action plans to reduce prevalence rates to below 5% by 2029 | India News – Times of India
“In our country today, one in five girls gets married before the age of 18. Child marriage is one of the gravest forms of human rights violations and is also a criminal offense under the law,” Devi said, voicing the need to combat the menace in campaign mode even as she highlighted the progress India has made and contributed significantly to the sharp global decline in child marriage in South Asia. According to the National Family Health Survey-5, the child marriage rate is 23.3% in 2019-2021, it was 26.8% in 2015-2016 and 47.4% in 2005-2006.
The minister also urged states to prepare action plans that can help reduce the prevalence rates of child marriage to below 5% by 2029. The WCD minister said the nationwide campaign also aims to draw special attention to high-burden states and districts, and targeting villages to combat the problem.
The minister also launched a national platform – “Child Marriage Free Bharat Portal” where people can register their complaints related to child marriage in future and will forward them directly to the concerned Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPOs) anywhere in the country. .
All states have been directed to log into the portal and register the CMPOs so that cases can be tracked in real-time. The WCD ministry plans to appoint nodal officers at the Center to monitor the portal. The minister also said that the “Abhiyan” is not a sporadic one-time campaign but an exercise that will continue with the aim of eradicating child marriage.
Based on the NFHS-5 data, seven high-burden states – West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Tripura, Assam and Andhra Pradesh and nearly 300 districts where the prevalence of child marriage is higher than the national average will be the focus. in the outreach campaign.
“Figures also show that almost two million child marriages have been prevented in one year. Furthermore, a United Nations report states that the most significant global decline in child marriage has been observed in South Asian countries, with India playing a crucial role in the fight against child marriage. this achievement,” she said, based on available data and research.
The national campaign comes in the backdrop of the Supreme Court’s October 18 judgment, which highlights the need for a ‘whole of government and whole of society’ approach to combat child marriage and bring about cultural change. WCD ministry officials said that in line with the visions set forth by the SC, the national campaign will support the implementation of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 and safeguard the rights of girls.
