Union Minister Annapurna Devi launched the “Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat Campaign” on November 27, aiming to eradicate child marriages. The initiative seeks to empower girls by ensuring they reach their full potential. A key focus is on legal reforms to establish 18 as the minimum age for marriage across all communities.
New Delhi: Annapurna Devi, the Union Minister for Women and Child Development, launched the “Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat Campaign” , also known as the Child Marriage Free India initiative.
This campaign aims to prevent child marriage and other harmful practices, with the objective of enabling girls to reach their full potential by eliminating child marriages.
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Beti Bachao Beti Padhao
The government initiated the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao program meaning “rescue girls, educate girls” ten years ago to shift societal perceptions regarding the value of girls.
At the launch of the campaign’s portal, Devi remarked,
“The next step is to ensure that customs like child marriage do not hinder her ability to achieve her goals.”
Devi noted that India’s efforts to combat child marriage have garnered international recognition. UN data indicates that South Asia has experienced the most significant decline in child marriage, with India playing a pivotal role in this progress.
However, child marriage remains prevalent in certain regions. The campaign will specifically target the seven high-burden states West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Tripura, Assam, and Andhra Pradesh—as well as 300 districts that report higher-than-average rates.
The goal is to reduce the prevalence of child marriage to below 5% by 2029. Government statistics show a decrease in child marriage rates from 47.4% in 2006 to 23.3% between 2019 and 2021.
The “Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat Campaign” also aims to amend laws to establish 18 as the legal minimum age for marriage without exceptions and to provide legal protections for minors through these amendments. The campaign’s portal is designed to enhance oversight of Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPOs), ensuring they actively prevent child marriages and support affected individuals. It seeks to improve public access to information, facilitating better support and communication.
The initiative will employ user-friendly methods to encourage reporting by witnesses and victims, streamlining the process of reporting child marriages.
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Additionally, the government is working on projects like Nari Adalats (women’s courts) and guidelines for gender-inclusive communication to address biases in language. Devi emphasized that these efforts are part of a broader vision to transform India into a developed nation by 2047, with girls playing a vital role in women-led development.
In October, the Supreme Court affirmed that the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act applies universally, regardless of personal laws, and highlighted existing legal gaps. It stressed the importance of community engagement, targeted preventive measures, inter-sector collaboration, and training for law enforcement to effectively tackle the issue.