Union Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi on Wednesday launched the ‘Child Marriage Free India Campaign’ portal to prevent practices like child marriage. On the occasion, Annapurna Devi said that ten years ago, the government launched the “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” campaign with the aim of changing the society’s attitude towards the girl child. This success is emblematic of that change. Now, our next step is to give girls a path to achieve their dreams and stop practices like child marriage from holding them back. He also noted that India has received global praise for curbing child marriage. Citing a United Nations report, he said the largest reduction in child marriage was in South Asia, largely due to India’s efforts.
These states are in bad shape
However, the practice of child marriage is still prevalent 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. The child marriage rate in the state is higher than the national average. The government aims to reduce the child marriage rate to below 5% by 2029. According to government data, the child marriage rate was 47.4% in 2006 and has dropped to 23.3% in 2019-21.
Purpose of launching a portal
The Child Marriage Free India portal aims to enhance monitoring and proactive role of Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPOs). In addition, the portal also strives to make the child marriage reporting process simple and convenient, and to mobilize the enthusiasm of victims and witnesses to report. Issues such as education, health, financial security, safety and social awareness are all addressed in this movement. Aspects such as ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ and National Education Policy are being used to address the causes and effects of child marriage.
Union Minister expresses gratitude to media
Expressing gratitude to the media, Minister Annapurna Devi said, “The media has helped spread the message of ‘Child Marriage Free India’ to remote parts of the country.” He appealed to citizens to commit themselves to stop child marriage and stop child marriage in their occur in the community and cases are reported to local authorities. Annapurna Devi said that the campaign is a comprehensive initiative and part of the efforts to give girls a central role in women-led development, with the goal of creating a developed India by 2047.
Regarding the campaign, the Supreme Court had said in October that the Child Marriage Prohibition Act cannot be restricted by individual laws, while acknowledging the shortcomings of the law while emphasizing community-based measures and enforcement capacity building.
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