The missing peg in Assam’s quest to become ‘child marriage free’ by 2030

In three years, Assam has witnessed an 89 percent decline in child marriages among girls, and 91 percent among boys, finds a recent study by Just Rights for Children. Such a decline has not been observed in any other state to date – Swaty Prakash

If there is one state in the entire country, or perhaps the world as a whole, that has redefined its stance and fight against child marriage, it is Assam. In recent years, this state has crafted multi-dimensional strategies, sounded the war cry, and confronted this centuries-old crime against children with unprecedented resolve. The results have been nothing short of remarkable. In three years, the state has witnessed an 89 percent decline in child marriages among girls, and 91 percent among boys, finds a recent study by Just Rights for Children. Such a decline has not been observed in any other state to date.

But this intolerance and anger towards child marriage were not part of the state’s fabric till a few years ago. In fact, alarmingly, Assam is one of the few states where the child marriage prevalence had increased between 2015-16 and 2019-21, as per the National Family Health Survey IV and V. But with political will, determination and well-etched strategies involving stakeholders from multiple sectors, they turned this around. And how!  As per the report ‘Tipping Point to Zero: Evidence towards a Child Marriage Free India’ Assam has emerged as the top-performing state in eliminating child marriages. Over 91 percent of respondents stated that child marriage had either stopped or been reduced to a large extent.

This makes for an intriguing social transformation. What really transpired to bring about such a dramatic shift in perception, attitude, and action across the state? How did a practice that was once deeply entrenched in the social fabric begin to crumble so decisively? Understanding this change is not only essential but also crucial to replicating its success elsewhere. After all, India is obligated and committed to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim for an equitable, just and sustainable planet and must eliminate this crime against children by 2030.  Let us break down the Assam model to understand what has driven this unprecedented success and also examine the existing loopholes that must be addressed to achieve the complete elimination of child marriage from the state by 2030.

Since 2023, thousands of people have been arrested in Assam as part of the government’s intense crackdown on child marriage. Those booked under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006, included not only the grooms and parents, but also anyone who facilitated, officiated, or even attended a child marriage. This decisive enforcement triggered multiple ripple effects.

To begin with, it created widespread awareness about the law itself, a feat that had long been a challenge for the authorities in the state and continues to be so in many other states across the country. Communities that had, for generations, normalised the practice were suddenly confronted with the reality that child marriage is a punishable crime. The impact has been remarkable: in 2023–24, 766 child marriages were stopped, and this number catapulted to 8,674 in 2024–25. Each of these prevented marriages has had a ripple effect across villages and communities, prompting people to think twice, thrice, and finally abandon any plans of marrying off a child they know.

These prosecutions and the consequent impact on creating a deterrent in society against child marriage are the classic 3P model of Protection, Prevention and Prosecution. The model clearly identifies Prosecution as the strongest deterrent against a crime, protection that ensures that the survivors of child marriage are rehabilitated and Prevention, which often stems from prosecution as it creates fear of the law in society.

Assam has executed this model, and the result is for everyone to witness and replicate. The police officials, who are often perceived as unfriendly and unapproachable, often become the last resort in crimes such as child marriage. Approaching the police to report a child marriage is often perceived as an act of defiance against the community rather than of courage, but not in Assam.

The report by one of the largest NGO networks working for child protection across the world finds that in Assam, 93 percent of the surveyed villages said that they relied heavily on local police stations to report any child marriage incident, followed by NGOs (79 percent). This approach towards the police stations clearly explains the high number of prosecutions and FIRs against child marriage in the state, because, unlike other crimes, the crime of child marriage is often facilitated and celebrated by the communities themselves.

However, between the reality of ending child marriage and the future of child marriage free Assam lie an important deficit of knowledge among communities about other machineries meant exclusively for such crimes against children. So while people in Assam have shown unprecedented reliance on local police stations, they are not aware of helplines and child welfare committees that are set up exclusively for child protection and welfare. Supreme Court of India, in its judgment in October 2024, had clearly emphasised the roles of Child Marriage Protection Officers and Child Welfare Committees. There are, at present, 34,895 CMPOs appointed across the country, but if their existence remains hidden from the locals, the entire ecosystem created to combat child marriage would not be completely utilized.

True success lies in building an ecosystem where every element is known, accessible, and effectively utilized. The Assam government, while it has put a robust law and order framework in place and rolled out befitting schemes for the education and empowerment of young girls, now needs to ensure that the child protection machinery functions as a well-connected ecosystem. Awareness about Child Marriage Prohibition Officers, Child Welfare Committees, and helplines such as 1098 must penetrate to the last village and hamlet. Every parent, teacher, panchayat member, and adolescent group must know where to turn when a child’s rights are at risk. Enforcement has already created fear and deterrence; the next leap must come from empowerment, awareness, and accessible redressal.

If the first phase of Assam’s fight against child marriage was defined by prosecution and deterrence, the next must be defined by prevention and protection. Only when every citizen becomes a stakeholder and is aware, informed, and willing to act can the state truly achieve a Child Marriage Free Assam by 2030.

(Author Swaty Prakash is a writer and communication strategist with a strong inclination towards child rights, mental health, and social impact storytelling. With a background in journalism at Press Trust of India, some English dailies, she now creates content for NGOs working on child protection and child rights).