Rajasthan Moves To Eradicate Social Evils: Child Marriages Drop By 20 Per Cent In Ten Years

A report by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has revealed that child marriages in Rajasthan have dropped by 20 per cent, Times of India has reported.

The report has been prepared along with a research group named Young Lives India based on the data collected through the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) - 4. However, this figure is much higher than the national average of 11.9 per cent.

“A comparative analysis of child marriage for 15-19-year-old  girls as reported in NFHS-3 (2005-06) and NFHS-4 (2015-16) reveals that overall prevalence of child marriage has reduced  to a large extent in the last 10 years for a number of states in India except for marginal increase as observed in the states of Manipur and Himachal Pradesh,” the report says.

According to the report, more than 30 per cent of reduction has been observed in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh during the same period. The report said that the gains were a result of the efforts made by the states towards reducing child marriage.

Awareness programs and re-admission of girl child to schools was instrumental in reducing child marriage according to the chairperson of the state commission for protection of child rights Mannan Chaturvedi.