Assam shows the way, with 81% reduction in child marriages

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: The Assam government’s emphasis on legal intervention in child marriage cases is now a proven model for the rest of the country to follow. This is a key finding in a report ‘Towards Justice: Ending Child Marriage’ released on World Day for International Justice. The report reveals a whopping 81 percent reduction in the instances of child marriage across 20 districts of Assam between 2021–22 and 2023–24, a clear testimony of the role of prosecution in ending child marriage.

The India Child Protection (ICP) report was released 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 noted child rights activist Bhuwan Ribhu at a function in New Delhi.

The data, which was collected from the 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 states 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 a 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 stated.

The report further reveals 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.

NCPCR Chairperson Priyank Kanoongo said, “India has been well on its path to being a true global leader in every sense of the word. Children, who hold the future of this great nation, need to be enriched, preserved, and protected, and this government is leaving no stone unturned in achieving this goal. Prosecution is definitely the key to ending this crime against children, and the Assam model to end child marriages has shown the country the way forward. This report comes at a very crucial time, and we will go through it thoroughly and meticulously to see how its findings can assist our functioning and understanding of the issue of child marriage.”

He further said that the Commission is extremely clear on its stand that no child can be married under the guise of religion. Both POCSO and PCMA laws are secular laws and supersede all personal laws.

Speaking on the occasion, noted child rights activist and founder of Child Marriage Free India Bhuwan Ribhu remarked, “Assam has shown that legal action is also the best public awareness message to create the deterrence of child marriage. 98 percent of the people in Assam today believe that prosecution is the key to ending child marriage. 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 the creation of fast-track courts to clear the backlog, and secondly, punishment should be doubled and treated as equivalent to a criminal conspiracy for rape against the parents, guardians, or panchayats who had provided an undertaking.

Child Marriage Free India, of which ICP is a part, is a nationwide campaign started in 2022 and presently has almost 200 NGO partners working across the country as per the action plan enumerated in Bhuwan Ribhu’s bestseller ‘When Children Have Children: Tipping Point to End Child Marriage.’ The main tools used by CMFI include legal intervention and counselling for families and communities.

The CMFI partners successfully prevented 14,137 child marriages in 2023–24 by using legal interventions and 59,364 child marriages with the help of panchayats.

The report used primary data gathered at the village level through engagement with key stakeholders, including Panchayati Raj Institution functionaries and NGO activists involved in child protection initiatives, and collated secondary data from government sources such as the National Family Health Survey-V and the National Crime Records Bureau, a press release stated.

Also read: Two Arrested in Tamulpur for Child Marriage and Forging Birth Certificates (sentinelassam.com)

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