With the aim to end child marriage in India by 2030, the Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), founded by Nobel Peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi organised consultations in collaboration with the panchayati raj, women and child development department of Jharkhand to rid the state of child marriages.

“The day-long consultations at Ranchi engaged and involved multiple stakeholders to intensify the fight against child marriage. The aim was to mobilise all stakeholders of child protection to move together and help in the realisation of child-marriage-free Jharkhand under the larger vision of child-marriage-free India. It is the world’s largest grassroots movement against child marriage,” said a spokesperson for the BBA.

The stakeholders created a roadmap to make Jharkhand child-marriage-free.

“When Kailash Satyarthiji gave the clarion call last year, the nation saw an unprecedented and overwhelming response. Over 76,000 women and children in 7,028 villages across the country took to the streets to raise their voice against child marriage. Similar consultations will be held in 20 states and is yet another step towards realising our collective dream to make India child marriage free by 2030,” said BBA executive director Dhananjay Tingal.

"To fight and uproot child marriages completely, we need a multipronged and multidimensional strategy. Through these consultations, we aim to bring together the various stakeholders so that they can work in tandem to fight this crime. We will leave no stone unturned in our fight against this social evil and the participation as well as commitment shown by one and all only strengthens our determination and zeal,” added Tingal.

“Child marriage is basically an issue related to women empowerment. In almost all the findings, we see that women are the victims of child marriage and they need to be more aware of this practice. With the empowerment of women, problems like child marriage can be curbed effectively, said Rajiv Arun Ekka, principal secretary, the panchayati raj and rural development department.

“No particular organisation or individual can alone curb child marriage. All stakeholders must make a collective effort to stop the practice in the state. Especially, the elected representatives at the panchayat level will have to play an important role in making this happen. Only then, the dream of child-marriage-free India will be realised,” Ekka added.

“The issue of child marriage needs to be prioritised and should be looked at as a crime against children. All stakeholders like government agencies and law enforcement agencies must make a collective effort to stop the practice in the state,” said Bidhan Chandra, head, partnership and campaign, Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF), while highlighting the adverse impact of child marriage on children and the need to stop the social evil.

According to the 2011 census report, 51,57,863 girls in India and around 3.59 lakh children were married off before turning 18 in Jharkhand.

“This is a cause of grave concern and requires immediate action to protect young girls from the evil of child marriage. The National Family Health Survey-V (NFHS 2019-21) reports that nationally 23.3 per cent of women between the age group of 20-24 were married off before attaining the age of 18. Jharkhand reported that 32.2 per cent of women in the same age group were married before the age of 18,” Chandra said.