Crackdown leads to decline in child marriages in Assam
Report titled ‘Towards Justice: Ending Child Marriage’ unveiled in Delhi
Campaign against child marriage and sexual abuse was carried out by the Jorhat District Legal Service Authority (DLSA) in the final week of December 2024 (Representational Image)
Guwahati, July 18: Legal intervention by the Assam government has reduced child marriages in the state by 81 percent, stated a report prepared by child rights organisation India Child Protection.
The report, which was released in New Delhi on Wednesday, revealed a whopping 81 percent reduction in the instances of child marriage across 20 districts of Assam between 2021-22 and 2023-24.
The report titled ‘Towards Justice: Ending Child Marriage’ was unveiled by the survivors of child marriage in the presence of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chairperson Priyank Kanoongo and Child Marriage Free India (CMFI) founder and child rights activist Bhuwan Ribhu on the occasion of the World Day for International Justice.
The NCPCR chairperson said the Assam model to end child marriages has shown the country the way forward.
The data in the report, which was collected from National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) and also from 1,132 villages across 20 districts in Assam with a total population of 21 lakh and a child population of 8 lakh, clearly shows that owing to the crackdown on child marriages by the Assam government, the state has witnessed the complete eradication of child marriage in 30 percent of its villages, while 40 percent have reported significant decline in the once-rampant practice of child marriage.
Moreover, the report further states, “In 12 out of the 20 districts, over 90 percent of respondents believe that taking legal action such as arresting individuals and filing FIRs in cases related to child marriage can effectively address the occurrence of such cases,” the report said.
India Child Protection is a leading child rights protection organisation dedicated to combatting child sexual abuse and related crimes, including child trafficking, exploitation of children in the digital space, and child marriage.
“Assam has shown that legal action is also the best public awareness message to create the deterrence of child marriage. Ninety eight percent of the people in Assam today believe that prosecution is the key to ending child marriage,” Bhuwan Ribhu said, adding, “This message must go from Assam and spread across India at scale to create a child marriage-free India.”
Two of the key recommendations highlighted in the report are creation of fast-track courts to clear the backlog and secondly, punishment should be doubled and treated as equivalent to criminal conspiracy for rape to the parents, guardians or panchayats who had provided an undertaking.
The report further revealed the urgency required in the legal system across the country to end child marriage. In 2022, out of the total 3,563 child marriage cases listed for trial in courts, a mere 181 cases were successfully concluded, showing a pendency rate of 92 percent. The report states that the country may take 19 years to clear the backlog of 3,365 cases at the current rate of trial completion.
-By Staff Reporter