Thursday, 28 September 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
Director general of police Ashok Kumar stressed on the urgency to implement ideas to combat child marriage. He said, “Child marriage is at times socially accepted in society even when it is ethically and legally wrong. It is a tough task but we all need to work together to make everyone aware of the consequences of this evil and ensure that the laws are enforced effectively and extensively.”
Kumar was speaking at a State consultation programme organised by Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) with law enforcement agencies to end child marriage in India by 2030. It was stated that according to the 2011 census report, 51, 57,863 girls in India and about 54,858 children were married off before turning 18 in Uttarakhand. The National Family Health Survey-V (NFHS 2019-21) reports that nationally 23.3 per cent of women between the age group of 20-24 were married off before attaining the age of 18. In Uttarakhand 9.8 per cent women in the same age group were married before the age of 18.
BBA executive director Dhananjay Tingal said, “The consultation conducted here will also be held in 20 other States and is yet another step towards realising the collective dream to make India child-marriage-free by 2030. A multipronged and multidimensional strategy is needed for this.”
Additional secretary of Women Empowerment and Child Development Prashant Arya emphasised the need to end child marriage in India. He said that child marriage is deeply rooted in society and stressed on the importance of awareness and sensitisation to tackle the problem.
