This Akshaya Tritiya, state governments vow to stop child marriage
Raipur. Eight state governments of the country have issued notifications directing government officials to keep strict vigil in villages and blocks to ensure prevention of child marriage during Akshaya Tritiya. According to 2011 census data, 4000 children are thrown into the hell of child marriage every day in the country. But during Akshaya Tritiya, which is considered auspicious for marriage, there is a particularly huge increase in the number of child marriages. But this year a reduction can be expected considering the strict stance of the state governments. Welcoming these unprecedented collective initiatives of the State Governments ahead of Akshaya Tritiya falling on 10th May, Child Marriage Free India Campaign (CMFI) has extended all possible support in these efforts to ensure prevention of child marriage. CMFI is a coalition of 161 NGOs working at the grassroots level in 257 districts of the country where child marriage rates are higher than the national average, to end this deep-rooted social crime.
Reiterating the government’s full cooperation in these efforts, Ravi Kant, convener of Child Marriage Free India Campaign, said, “Child marriage is a deep-rooted crime which unfortunately has low social acceptance. Its complete elimination requires a multi-pronged strategy and coordinated actions with involvement of all stakeholders. The fact that so many state governments have taken such initiatives demonstrating unprecedented resolve to end child marriage is encouraging. This Akshaya Tritiya, if we can save children from being thrown into the hell of child marriage, it will not only be a major victory in our common fight but will also set a new benchmark. “With this courage, mutual cooperation and actions, India is certain to be free from child marriage by 2030.”
The state governments of Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan have issued instructions to the District Magistrates and Gram Panchayats of all the districts of their states to take necessary precautionary measures to prevent child marriages. Women and Child Welfare Department, Panchayati Raj, Directorate of Social Security and Child Rights Protection Commissions of various states have given instructions to mandatorily maintain a marriage register in their villages and panchayats to prevent child marriage. Also, many states have instructed their administrative staff to conduct awareness campaigns among priests of all religions including Pandits, Maulvis who play an important role in solemnizing marriages, wedding cooks, wedding card printers so that they Be aware of the ill effects of marriage and the legal consequences of participating in it in any way.
Apart from these instructions, the Women and Child Welfare Department of Haryana has instructed the District Magistrates of all the districts to prepare a school-wise list of children who have dropped out of school and those who have been absent from school for a long time, as a measure to prevent child marriages. The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to hold village heads, panches and village level child protection committees accountable for their failure in preventing child marriages. The Uttar Pradesh government has also directed pundits and maulvis to verify the age of the couple before officiating marriages, while Rajasthan’s Panchayati Raj department has directed all district magistrates to take precautionary measures to prevent child marriages on Akshaya Tritiya. . Let us tell you that recently, while hearing a PIL by Just Rights for Children Alliance, Rajasthan High Court in its interim order asked the Rajasthan government to ensure that no child marriage takes place this Akshaya Tritiya. Besides, the High Court also said that Panches and Sarpanches will be held accountable for their failure to stop child marriage.
Child Marriage Free India Campaign is a coalition of 161 NGOs in the country working at the grassroots level in close coordination with state governments in 257 districts with high rates of child marriage to eliminate this menace by 2030. This coalition is running this campaign following the strategies and outline suggested to end child marriage in child rights activist Bhuvan Ribhu’s book ‘When Children Have Children: Tipping Point to End Child Marriage’. Bhuvan Ribhu is an advisor to the NGOs involved in this alliance.
