JRC targets 30 districts to end child marriage in Assam

Giving a significant boost to the Government of India's 'Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat' (Child Marriage Free India) campaign, the civil society network Just Rights for Children (JRC) has announced an intensive drive to free one lakh villages nationwide from the social scourge of child marriage within the next year.

Crucially, the drive will concentrate on villages within 30 high-prevalence districts in Assam that were flagged in the National Family Health Survey V (NFHS V, 2019-21). The announcement marks the first anniversary of the national campaign. 

Child marriage prevalence in Assam stands at a distressing 31.8 per cent, significantly higher than the national average of 23.3 per cent. Data reveals an alarming situation in districts like Dhubri, where the rate exceeds 50 per cent, and in areas such as South Salmara-Mankachar, Darrang, Nagaon, Goalpara, Bongaigaon, and Barpeta, which all record rates over 40 per cent.

JRC, a network of over 250 non-governmental organisations (NGOs), has eight partner groups operating in the state. In the past year alone, the network successfully prevented 10,114 child marriages across Assam, contributing to over one lakh preventions nationally.