Religious leaders took charge of preventing child marriage

Rahim Sherani Hindustani - Jhabua

Vidisha Social Welfare Organization, an organization working for the protection of child rights and prevention of child marriage in Jhabua district, conducted an awareness campaign among religious leaders to prevent child marriages.

Organization director Ram Raghuvanshi said, the cooperation and support received from religious leaders is overwhelming, not a single child marriage will take place in the district this Akshaya Tritiya.

For the protection and preservation of child rights, Just Rights for Children, the largest network of civil society organizations in the country, in Jhabua, the awareness campaign being run by Vidisha Social Welfare Organization, an associate organization, to prevent child marriages in view of Akshaya Tritiya and the wedding season, among the priests conducting marriages of different religions has got great success and all the religious leaders have appreciated it and extended their support. The organization said that considering that no child marriage can take place without a priest like a Pandit, Maulvi or Pastor, we decided to connect them with the campaign against child marriage. Looking at its positive results, we can hope that not a single child marriage will take place in the district on this Akshaya Tritiya. Today, there are boards in front of many temples and mosques in the district on which it is clearly written that child marriage is not allowed here. It is worth noting that JRC is running a 'Child Marriage Free India' campaign with the aim of eliminating child marriage from the country by 2030.

JRC is a network of more than 250 civil organizations working on the ground in 416 districts of the country for the protection and protection of child rights through legal interventions, which has stopped more than two lakh child marriages in the past years and has administered oath to more than five crore people against child marriage. Its partner organisation Vidisha Social Welfare Organisation, in collaboration and coordination with the local administration, has stopped child marriages in the district in 2023-24 alone through legal interventions and persuasion of families and communities. The organisation is implementing the comprehensive strategy suggested in the book 'When Children Have Children: Tipping Point to End Child Marriage' by JRC founder Bhuvan Ribhu to achieve the goal of a child marriage-free India by 2030.

Vidisha Social Welfare Organisation director Ram Raghuvanshi said that there is still a lack of necessary awareness against child marriage in the country. Most people are not aware that it is a punishable offence under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006. Any involvement or service provided in this can result in a sentence of two years and fine or both. In this, apart from the baraatis and the people of the girl's side, the caterers, decorators, confectioners, gardeners, band players, marriage hall owners and even the pandit and maulvi who conduct the marriage will also be considered involved in the crime and can be punished and fined. He said that this is why we decided to run an awareness campaign among the religious leaders and the priest class because this is the most important class that conducts marriages. We explained to them that child marriage is nothing but rape of children. Having sexual relations with a girl below the age of eighteen even in marital relations is rape under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. It is a matter of great happiness that today the pandits and maulvis, understanding this, are not only supporting this campaign, but are themselves coming forward and taking an oath not to allow child marriage. If the priest class refuses to conduct child marriages, then this crime can be eradicated from the country overnight. We are overwhelmed by their unexpected cooperation and support in this campaign. Looking at this, we believe that soon we will achieve the goal of child marriage free Jhabua.