'Child marriages still rampant in J'khand'

The State level dissemination workshop on child marriage was conducted at Hotel le lac on Friday.The practice of child marriage is persistent and accepted by majority in the predominately tribal areas of rural Jharkhand. Development Focus and a cluster of 10 partner organizations have worked in 6 selected districts of Jharkhand to address the problem of early marriages. The six districts include lohardaga, latehar, Palamu, East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum and Seraikela.

A panel discussion on comprehensive and collaborative approach in addressing early marriages was held on Friday. The discussion basically focused on three important factors; the livelihood development for youth and its deterrence effect on child marriage; the role of media in informing and influencing positive action and the need for comprehensive approach in legal and health rights.

Planning for the project started in July 2014 whereas the actual implementation began from September 2014. The goal of the project was to reduce child marriages by 50% and strengthen (sexual and reproductive health and rights) SRHR among adolescents and youths, by the year 2015. 

The strategies and interventions of the programme were strategized and planned with the objective of achieving the result within a short duration of one year.

louis Marandi, Minister, Social welfare was present as the chief guest in the programme. “Child marriage is a curse for girls, especially those living in the villages and is not aware of their rights. In the outskirts and small pockets girls are married at the age of 12”, said the Minister.

“Poverty and lack of awareness are very vital issues which need to be tackled. If a girl child is married at a young age, she has to face several health issues in the future. Education is the main weapon to control this crime,” Marandi further added.

“Social welfare department has also launched various schemes and policies and laxmi ladli Yojana is one such scheme which can help the girl child to secure her future,” Marandi pointed out. 

According to the report presented, around six crore girls are married off before they attain the age of 18 years in South Asia. According to the survey done in the year 2007-08 in India itself, approximately around 43% girls get married at an early age.

“To combat child marriage female literacy is mandatory. We also need to focus on rural economy. The livelihood pattern in the village is another big factor responsible for child marriages. Identification of small pockets where child marriage is still prevalent has become mandatory,” said economist Ramesh Sharan.

“Dropout rate among girls is also one major factor for the child marriages in the interior regions. Investment in quality education is a need of time. State Government needs to invest more on education and create awareness regarding this sensitive issue,” said Sharan.

According to the survey conducted by the International institute of population studies, in Jharkhand 55.7% girls are married before they attain an age of 18 years. In Bihar, the ratio is 68.2% whereas in Rajasthan 57.6% child marriages take place. 

“Population and poverty are two main factors which lead to child marriages in the interior regions. Social awareness drive on a wide scale can help to restrain the issue,” said senior Journalist Balbir Dutt.