Assam surpasses national average in decline in child marriages: Report
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Guwahati (PTI): Assam has recorded a sharp decline in the number of child marriages, surpassing the national average, as per a report of a survey carried out by a non-governmental organisation in five states.
Legal deterrence, including police complaints and arrests, was identified as among the most effective tools in eliminating child marriage, the report based on the period April 2022 to March 2025 said.
The report, 'Tipping Point to Zero: Evidence Towards a Child Marriage Free India', released recently at a side event at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, was prepared by the Centre for Legal Action and Behaviour Change for Children (C-LAB), an initiative of NGO Just Rights for Children (JRC) partner India Child Protection.
The report said Assam is leading the nation with the steepest decline in child marriage, recording an 84 per cent drop in cases among girls and a 91 per cent reduction among boys in the last three years.
It said that at the national level, child marriages declined by 69 per cent among girls and 72 per cent among boys.
In terms of decline in child marriages among girls in the five surveyed states, Assam is followed by Maharashtra and Bihar (70 per cent each), Rajasthan (66 per cent), and Karnataka (55 per cent).
The study attributed Assam's progress to the state government's 'zero tolerance' approach, strict legal action and coordinated efforts with the central government and civil society organisations over the past three years.
Recognising the state's success, JRC also announced the 'Champions of Change' Award for Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
JRC is one of the largest networks with over 250 NGOs working for child protection, and in Assam alone, its eight NGO partners are working in 30 of the state's 35 districts.
The findings revealed that while all respondents identified awareness campaigns as the most effective tool in reducing child marriages, 76 per cent cited prosecution through FIRs and arrests as the second most important factor behind Assam's sharp decline.
However, knowledge of specialised mechanisms such as the child welfare committee and helplines remained low at 31 and 22 per cent, respectively.
The report also credited government schemes for this decline in child marriages.
"The Assam government has also initiated measures to counter child marriage, including the Nijut Moina 2.0 scheme, which provides financial support to girls pursuing education and strengthens incentives to delay marriage," the report said.
It said that 99 per cent of the respondents in Assam reported being aware of the child marriage laws, and credited television and NGOs as the top sources of their legal information at 92 per cent and 76 per cent, respectively.
Also, the report revealed an almost universal awareness (99 per cent) of the central government's 'Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat' campaign launched in 2024.
"Around 88 per cent of the respondents identified NGOs as the lead facilitator of the campaign and pledges against child marriage," the report said.
A total of 95 per cent of respondents also reported having taken the pledge against child marriage during the campaign in the state.
Key recommendations of the report included strict enforcement of child marriage laws, better reporting mechanisms, compulsory marriage registration and village-level awareness of the portal of the Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat for the elimination of the social menace by 2030.
The report also recommended designating a national day against child marriage.
The report was based on field data from 757 villages from five states selected zone-wise and adopted the Multistage Stratified Random Sampling.
In Assam, 150 villages were surveyed and frontline service providers such as ASHA, Anganwadi workers, school teachers, auxiliary nurse midwives, Panchayat Raj Institution members, etc., were engaged.
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19-yr-old woman found hanging from tree in UP village; juvenile held
Lucknow/Pratapgarh (UP) (PTI): Police have apprehended a 16-year-old boy for his alleged involvement in the rape and murder of a 19-year-old woman whose body was found hanging from a tree in a village here, officials said on Monday.
Additional Superintendent of Police (West), Brijnandan Rai, said that the body of a 19-year-old woman was found hanging from a tree in an orchard in the Manikpur police station area on Sunday morning. A post-mortem examination subsequently confirmed that she had been raped.
Police registered a case against unidentified persons under sections 103(1) (punishment for murder) and 70(1) (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and initiated an investigation.
During the course of the investigation, the police found that the deceased was in contact with a juvenile who was also her relative.
Acting on this information, during a joint checking operation, sub-inspector Amit Kumar Singh of Manikpur police station and SOG In-charge Amit Kumar Chaurasia, along with their team, apprehended the 16-year-old near the Lehdari Ganga River bridge.
The search for other accused persons is ongoing, police said.
According to the police, the woman had gone to sleep after dinner on Saturday night but was found hanging in an orchard nearly 400 metres away from her home the following morning.
Additional Superintendent of Police (West), Brijnandan Rai, had earlier said that the circumstances suggest foul play.
"The victim's slippers and undergarments were recovered 50 metres away from the spot where the body was found. There are visible injury marks on her body," Rai said.
While locals have alleged that the woman was murdered after being raped, the ASP said that it is "prima facie a case of murder."
"Based on the complaint filed by the victim's brother, a case of murder has been registered against unidentified persons," the officer added.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, in a post on X in Hindi on Monday, said, "The news of the heinous murder of a Dalit daughter in Pratapgarh is deeply tragic and condemnable."
"The question remains: why does the spate of murders of 'PDA daughters' continue unabated in Uttar Pradesh? Are the BJP government's claims regarding women's safety merely hollow rhetoric, or is there, in fact, discrimination even in the provision of security for women?" he said.
"Whenever the 'wandering Honourable (ghumantu maananiye)' finds a moment of respite from election campaigning, he should cast a glance at the plight of the daughters of his own Uttar Pradesh. In any case, apart from injustice and oppression, no sister, daughter, or mother of this state holds any hope from you," Yadav added.
