Thousands of children may be pushed into marriage during Akshaya Tritiya, warn NGOs

By Jitendra Parmar*

To ensure that no child is pushed into child marriage during the upcoming wedding season in the country, community social workers (CSWs) of various NGOs of the Child Marriage Free India coalition got together to chalk out a strategy for the same in Delhi.

The ‘Capacity Building Workshop for Community Social Workers’ was organized by India Child Protection Fund and supported by ‘V For Her Foundation’ and ‘Just Rights for Children’.

As the wedding season is around the corner, this is an important time for the CSWs working at grassroots to stop child marriage as thousands of children will be pushed into marriage during this time across the country.

Akshaya Tritiya is especially a vulnerable time when instances of child marriage are high in various states such as Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Child Marriage Free India campaign is a coalition of 161 NGOs and is well on its way to reach tipping point to end child marriage and end this crime by 2030.

Speaking at the event, renowned activist and author, Bhuwan Ribhu said: “India is well on its way to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal against child marriage by 2030 and the momentum which has been built in the last one year through the efforts of the NGOs and the local governments need to be strengthened and expanded across India where the problem is most acute."

He added, "This one month is a critical time in the fight against child marriages as community, panchayats, NGOs, local governments at block, district and state levels can take urgent action to ensure that no child is married at Akshaya Tritiya (May 10-11)."

He further said, “Child marriage is a global problem but no country in the world has made the progress in policies and their implementation and for the achievement of SDGs as India has. And the real success of ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padao’ is in the elimination of child marriage.”

Strategies were formulated and future course of action decided to ensure that no child is pushed into marriage during the vulnerable time of 2024

Bhuwan Ribhu’s recent bestseller ‘When Children Have Children: Tipping Point to End Child Marriage’ has proposed a blueprint to reach the tipping point of child marriage by 2030 and is being adopted by civil society organizations and governments across the country for this.

The latest National Family Health Survey V (NHFS 2019-21) revealed that 23.3 percent of girls in the age group 20-24 were married before the age of 18 in the country.

Speaking at the event, Rajeev Bhardwaj, Trustee, India Child Protection Fund, said, “Child marriage is a scourge on all our child protection initiatives and has no space in today’s world.”

During the workshop, the CSWs from various states discussed the challenges they face in the villages while stopping child marriage, and were imparted knowledge and space to share experiences, challenges and learn from each other during the capacity building workshop.

Law, which remains one of the most crucial aspects in this fight against child marriage, was discussed at length during the workshop. With experts present during the workshop, strategies were formulated and future course of action decided to ensure that no child is pushed into marriage during this vulnerable time of the year.

From getting injunction orders from the courts to prevent child marriages, to studying the demography of each village to know the number of vulnerable children, to putting posters outside religious places giving stern message that no child marriage takes place in that place, to writing punishment for marrying children on the Panchayat notice boards in every village, the workshop listed out several steps to ensure that child marriage doesn’t take place this wedding season.

---

*With Bachpan Bachao Andolan

Comments

Grueling summer ahead: Cuttack’s alarming health trends and what they mean for Odisha

By Sudhansu R Das The preparation to face the summer should begin early in Odisha. People in the state endure long, grueling summer months starting from mid-February and extending until the end of October. This prolonged heat adversely affects productivity, causes deaths and diseases, and impacts agriculture, tourism and the unorganized sector. The social, economic and cultural life of the state remains severely disrupted during the peak heat months.

Concerns raised over move to rename MGNREGA, critics call it politically motivated

By A Representative Concerns have been raised over the Union government’s reported move to rename the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), with critics describing it as a politically motivated step rather than an administrative reform. They argue that the proposed change undermines the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and seeks to appropriate credit for a programme whose relevance has been repeatedly demonstrated, particularly during times of crisis.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Why India must urgently strengthen its policies for an ageing population

By Bharat Dogra A quiet but far-reaching demographic transformation is reshaping much of the world. As life expectancy rises and birth rates fall, societies are witnessing a rapid increase in the proportion of older people. This shift has profound implications for public policy, and the need to strengthen frameworks for healthy and secure ageing has never been more urgent. India is among the countries where these pressures will intensify most sharply in the coming decades.

School job scam and the future of university degree holders in West Bengal

By Harasankar Adhikari The school recruitment controversy in West Bengal has emerged as one of the most serious governance challenges in recent years, raising concerns about transparency, institutional accountability, and the broader impact on society. Allegations that school jobs were obtained through irregular means have led to prolonged legal scrutiny, involving both the Calcutta High Court and the Supreme Court of India. In one instance, a panel for high school teacher recruitment was ultimately cancelled after several years of service, following extended judicial proceedings and debate.

India’s Halal economy 'faces an uncertain future' under the new food Bill

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The proposed Food Safety and Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2025 marks a decisive shift in India’s food regulation landscape by seeking to place Halal certification exclusively under government control while criminalising all private Halal certification bodies. Although the Bill claims to promote “transparency” and “standardisation,” its structure and implications raise serious concerns about religious freedom, economic marginalisation, and the systematic dismantling of a long-established, Muslim-led Halal ecosystem in India.

Women’s rights alliance seeks NCW action against Nitish Kumar over public veil incident

By A Representative An alliance of women’s rights activists has urged the National Commission for Women (NCW) to initiate legal action against Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over an incident at a public function in Patna that they allege amounted to a grave violation of a Muslim woman’s dignity and constitutional rights. In a detailed complaint dated December 18, the All India Feminist Alliance (ALIFA), part of the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), sought the NCW’s immediate intervention following an episode on December 15 during the distribution of appointment letters to newly recruited AYUSH doctors in Patna.

Renowned neurologist Dr N.C. Borah honoured with two prestigious national awards

By Nava Thakuria* Renowned physician and healthcare visionary Dr Nomal Chandra Borah, founder of the GNRC Universal Health Mission and the GNRC Group of Hospitals, has been conferred with two prestigious national Lifetime Achievement Awards in recognition of his transformative contributions to neurology, nursing leadership, and community healthcare over the past five decades.

Search This Blog