A Race Against Time: One Lakh Villages to be Child Marriage Free Within a Year

Press Release

oi-Oneindia Staff

Giving
a
powerful
new
momentum
to
India’s
goal
to
become
child
marriage
free
by
2030,
Just
Rights
for
Children
(JRC)
has
announced
an
intensive
drive
to
make
one
lakh
villages
child
marriage
free
within
the
next
one
year.
The
announcement
coincides
with
the
first
anniversary
of
the
Government
of
India’s
‘Bal
Vivah
Mukt
Bharat’
campaign,
when
the
government
launched
a
100-day
action
plan
as
part
of
the
nationwide
campaign
recently.

The
identified
villages
span
450
districts
across
25
states
and
union
territories.
Out
of
these,
15
districts
show
a
prevalence
of
over
50
percent,
45
districts
over
40
percent
and
95
districts
over
30
percent
prevalence
of
child
marriage.
The
remaining
districts
are
either
close
to
or
slightly
higher
than
national
average
of
23.3
percent
or
classified
as
highly
vulnerable,
with
a
strong
likelihood
of
further
deterioration
without
urgent
intervention.
The
one
lakh
villages
chosen
from
across
the
country
include
41
districts
in
Uttar
Pradesh,
39
in
Madhya
Pradesh,
38
in
Bihar
and
Rajasthan
each,
30
in
Assam,
26
in
Andhra
Pradesh
and
Telangana,
25
in
Odisha,
24
in
Jharkhand,
23
in
West
Bengal
and
11
in
Delhi.

Outlining
the
roadmap
to
achieve
the
target
of
making
one
lakh
villages
child
marriage
free,
Bhuwan
Ribhu,
Founder
of
Just
Rights
for
Children,
said,
“The
role
of
community
groups,
faith
leaders,
panchayats
and
citizens
is
central
to
building
a
child
marriage
free
India.
The
Government’s
Bal
Vivah
Mukt
Bharat
campaign
has
become
a
model
for
the
world.
It
also
stands
as
a
celebration
of
our
collective
work
to
end
this
crime
against
children.
Last
year,
more
than
one
lakh
child
marriages
were
stopped
or
prevented,
showing
that
when
society
comes
together,
change
is
inevitable.
Next
year,
together
we
pledge
to
make
one
lakh
villages
child
marriage
free
so
that
every
child
has
opportunities
and
a
secure
future.
We
will
make
every
possible
effort
to
completely
eliminate
child
marriage
from
the
country
over
the
next
three
years,
and
we
are
confident
that
it
is
possible.
This
momentum
matters
as
India
moves
toward
the
larger
vision
of
a
Viksit
Bharat.””

Just
Rights
for
Children
is
one
of
the
largest
networks
working
on
child
protection
for
years
with
its
over
250
NGO
partners
in
451
districts.
The
network
prevented
over
one
lakh
child
marriages
in
the
last
one
year
with
the
coordinated
efforts
its
partners,
local
administration,
law
enforcement
agencies,
community
leaders
and
other
stakeholders
such
as
faith
leaders,
marriage-related
service
providers
like
caterers,
tent
providers,
and
florists.

As
part
of
the
100
Days
Intensive
plan
under
the
‘Bal
Vivah
Mukt
Bharat
campaign,
the
Central
government
has
asked
all
the
state
governments
to
issue
notifications
to
their
field
functionaries
and
officials
of
the
Ministry
of
Health
and
Family
Welfare,
Ministry
of
Panchayati
Raj,
Ministry
of
Rural
Development,
Department
of
School
Education
and
Literacy
and
Department
of
Higher
Education
to
actively
participate
and
make
this
campaign
impactful.

The
Plan’
would
conclude
on
8th
March,
2026
which
also
marks
the
International
Women’s
Day.
It
is
divided
into
3
phases,
aims
to
eliminate
child
marriage
from
India
by
2029
and
will
focus
on
awareness
generation
through
schools,
colleges
and
educational
institutes
in
the
first
spell,
religious
places
and
marriage-related
service
providers
including
temples,
mosques,
churches,
gurudwaras,
wedding
halls,
and
band
parties
in
the
second
spell
and
on
gram
panchayats
and
municipal
wards
to
strengthen
community-level
engagement
and
ownership.