SIVASAGAR: The Sibsagar Press Club on Tuesday organized a media orientation on child protection issues in Sivasagar district. The programme, participated by around 40 journalists, was organized considering the fact that media can play a major role in creating public awareness and influence policy decisions, particularly at a time when the government of Assam is going on a mission mode to eliminate the social practice of child marriage. The orientation programme is significant as media reports are a critical source of information for policy making and public awareness. The Sibsagar Press Club intends to support building of the capacities of journalists in Sivasagar district and adjoining areas.
Khalilur Rahman Hazarika, general secretary of Sibsagar Press Club and the team of journalists at the press club felicitated the panellists and resource persons with a gamocha. Hazarika also moderated the programme.
Dr Nasmeem F Akhtar, Professor of Dibrugarh University while speaking on the occasion said that several causes leads to child marriages in our society which needed to be addressed first to eliminate the practice. While it is poverty and ignorance for some, at times there are also religious causes that lead to child marriage, said Dr Akhtar, who also heads the Centre for Womens Studies at the Dibrugarh University. She said that region specific issues like floods and erosion also fuels child marriages in different societies in Assam.
She said that at times children between 18 and 21 years are also not matured enough to take major decision like marriage but sometimes they had to give consent due to the pressure from the parents.
Monalisha Sarmah, Chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) Sivasagar district said that the rights of the children are enshrined in the Constitution of India. However, the practice of child marriage and child labour continues in our society due to several reasons.
Poor families are sometimes burdened with more children, and the parents tend to marry them off the girl child early not only to secure their future but also due to the growing economic burden, said Sarmah. She said that although the government of Assam has been taking up several measures to spread awareness about these issues, more intensified campaign is needed to relieve the society of these practices.
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