Union Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi on Wednesday launched the ‘Child Marriage Free India Campaign’ portal to stop practices like child marriage. Speaking on the occasion, Annapurna Devi said that 10 years ago the government had launched the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ campaign, which aimed to change the society’s attitude towards the girl child. This success is a symbol of change. Our next step now is to give girls a path to fulfill their dreams and prevent practices like child marriage from hindering their development. He also pointed out that India has been praised globally for stopping child marriage. Citing a United Nations report, he said the biggest reduction in child marriages has occurred in South Asia, largely due to India’s efforts.
Bad condition of these states
However, the practice of child marriage is still widespread in many parts of India. The main focus of the campaign will be on seven high-burden states – West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Tripura, Assam and Andhra Pradesh, where child marriage rates are higher than the national average. The government aims to reduce the rate of child marriage below 5% by 2029. According to government data, the rate of child marriage was 47.4% in 2006, which has declined to 23.3% in 2019-21.
Purpose of launching the portal
The ‘Child Marriage Free India Campaign’ portal aims to strengthen the monitoring of Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPO) and make their role active. In addition, efforts have been made to make the reporting process of child marriage easy and convenient for users on the portal, so that victims and witnesses can be motivated to report. Issues such as education, health, financial security, safety and social awareness are being addressed under this campaign. Aspects like ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ and National Education Policy are being used to address the causes and effects of child marriage.
The Union Minister thanked the media
Thanking the media, Minister Annapurna Devi said, “The media has helped spread the message of ‘Child Marriage Free India’ to remote areas of the country.” He appealed to citizens to take a pledge to stop child marriage, prevent it from happening in their communities and report cases to local authorities. Annapurna Devi presented the campaign as a comprehensive approach that is part of efforts to give girls a central role in women-led development with the aim of building a developed India by 2047.
Regarding the campaign, the Supreme Court had said in October that child marriage prohibition laws cannot be limited by individual laws and while acknowledging the shortcomings of the law, emphasized community-based measures and capacity building of law enforcement.
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