Assam Witnesses 81% Reduction In Child Marriage Cases: Report

The report revealed that while Jorhat and Nagaon districts saw a 100% reduction in child marriage cases, Goalpara saw an 8% reduction

Assam witnessed a whopping 81% reduction in cases of child marriage across 20 districts between 2021-22 and 2023-24. There have been zero child marriage cases in Jorhat and Nagaon between 2021-22 and 2023-24, as per the Towards Justice: Ending Child Marriage report released by India Child Protection.

In Kamrup Metro there were 2 cases reported in 2022-23 but no cases were reported in 2023-24.
In Darrang district the number of child marriage cases dropped by 97% from 824 in 2021-22 to 23 in 2023-24.

In Chirang the drop has been of 90% from 59 cases in 2021-22 to 6 in 2023-24.

In Cachar, the number of cases reduced by 86% from 69 cases in 2021-22 to 10 in 2023-24.

In Udalguri, there has been a drop of 83% from 76 cases in 2021-22 to 13 in 2023-24. Other districts like Dibrugarh at 81%, Marigaon at 80%, Dhubri at 78% and Sonitpur at 75% have significantly strides in preventing child marriages.

The findings also revealed that in 30% of villages, child marriage has been entirely eradicated, while 40% report a substantial reduction in this once-prevalent practice.

“In 12 out of 20 districts, over 90% of respondents support legal actions such as arrests and FIRs to combat child marriage effectively,” the report added.

The report findings are based on NCRB and date collected from 1,132 villages across 20 districts in Assam, with a population of 21 lakh including 8 lakh children.

National Commission for Protection of Child Rights Priyank Kanoongo emphasized that prosecution is the key to ending child marriage, and the Assam model to end this crime against children has shown the country the way forward.

Kanoongo reiterated the Commission’s stance against child marriage under any guise of religion, emphasizing the secular nature of laws like POCSO and PCMA.

Bhuwan Ribhu echoed Assam’s success and advocated for the widespread adoption of legal action as a deterrent.

He added that around 98% of people in Assam today believe that prosecution is the key to ending child marriage.

He also recommended the establishment of fast-track courts to resolve the backlog and doubling punishments equivalent to those for rape conspiracies for those involved.

Assam’s achievements underscore the initiatives taken by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on January 23, 2023 when he announced a state-wide campaign against child marriage, emphasizing that it violates fundamental rights and poses serious health risks to minor girls. By early February, this initiative resulted in 3,015 arrests.

Also Read: Assam govt announces stipend scheme ‘Nijut Moina’ for girl students to curb child marriage

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