Arunachal Pradesh Rallies Behind National Campaign to End Child Marriage

ITANAGAR: The saying "education is the solution to all problems in Arunachal Pradesh's tribal communities" seems to ring true as the state has shown great support for the Government of India's (GoI) campaign Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat (Child Marriage-Free India).

Huge crowds in streets, schools, and markets across Arunachal Pradesh participated in events organized by the Just Rights for Children Alliance (JRCA). Awareness campaigns, candlelight marches, and roadshows were held in 50 villages to bring the issue of child marriage into the public eye.

In a spectacular show of unity, policemen, panchayat leaders, religious leaders, teachers, school children, and even survivors of child marriage vowed to fight the practice and report it if they saw it. Child marriage, which was once a tradition in the region, is now being actively challenged.

The JRCA is a network of over 250 partner NGOs that work in more than 400 districts across India. This organization has collaborated with Arunachal Pradesh's government and local authorities to stop child marriage. By advocacy and legal measures, the organization has prevented more than 250,000 child marriages across the nation.

In the campaign events, participants agreed to make every effort to prevent child marriages within their families and communities. They pledged to report such attempts to panchayats and government officials. 

Some of the consequences of child marriage that were discussed included the deprivation of freedom and opportunities for the affected persons, especially the girls. It was also noted that child marriage is one of the main reasons for the low female workforce participation. As per the National Family Health Survey-V (2019–21), 23.3% of women in India aged 20–24 were married before attaining the age of 18.

In Arunachal Pradesh, it was a little lower at 18.9%. JRCA founder Bhuwan Ribhu praised the efforts of survivors, campaigners, and NGOs for driving this progress. The state government should lead efforts on prevention, protection, and legal action against child marriage, he said, while encouraging long-term cultural change.

Union Women and Child Development Minister Annapurna Devi, who launched the campaign at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, introduced a national portal to simplify reporting child marriage cases. She urged citizens to take responsibility for ending the practice and led a pledge involving gram panchayat leaders and schools across India.

The JRCA intends to continue to support the government of Arunachal Pradesh in taking the campaign to every district, block, and village. It also looks forward to engaging religious leaders and strengthening awareness efforts throughout the country to finally help eradicate child marriage altogether.

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