ICWO Sounds Alert to Stop Child Marriages This Dev Uthani (A beginning of Wedding Season in Hinduism)

 

To ensure that no child marriages take place on the occasion of Dev Uthani Ekadashi (A beginning of Wedding Season in Hinduism), which marks the beginning of the wedding season, ICWO has urged the district administration and the District Legal Services Authority to maintain strict vigilance and stay on high alert against child marriage. In its letter to the administration, the organisation has emphasised the need for proactive monitoring to ensure that no instance of child marriage goes unnoticed or unreported. It is important to spread the message that anyone with any information about child marriage must report it to the Police Helpline (112), Child Helpline (1098), ICWO Helpline (9087 161 161) or the local police station immediately to stop anyone from committing this crime; it said.

Indian Community Welfare Organisation – ICWO, a partner of Just Rights for Children, has been working in the district to end child marriage by 2030 under JRC’s nationwide campaign ‘Child Marriage Free India’. Just Rights for Children is one of the largest networks of NGOs dedicated to child rights and child protection in the country. Over the last few years, the network has been working relentlessly to end child marriage by 2030 with its comprehensive 3P model of Protection, Prevention and Prosecution.

In the letter, the NGO has asked the administration to put Anganwadi workers, sarpanches, ASHA workers, and police officials on high alert and to be extra cautious as the wedding season begins on November 1. The organisation has also intensified its awareness drive against child marriage in schools and villages starting today and has appealed to faith leaders to be extra vigilant too.

“The Hon’ble Supreme Court, in its landmark 2024 judgment clearly asked the districts to be more vigilant to end child marriage. We are simply asking the administrations to comply with the apex court’s judgment. Even the Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched the ‘Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat’ campaign reaffirming the national commitment to end child marriage by 2030. Today, we stand at the brink of ending child marriage with everyone’s collective efforts. While our efforts have been ongoing, this is a particularly crucial time, as many families tend to arrange child marriages during this auspicious period. We must uphold the sanctity of this pious occasion by ensuring that not a single child marriage takes place,” said A.J.Hariharan, Secretary-ICWO.

The NGO has urged the district administration to instruct all sarpanches to closely monitor upcoming weddings in their respective villages and to ask Anganwadi workers to prepare lists of marriages scheduled in their areas. School authorities must also be alerted to take note of any dropouts in the coming days, it said.

The organisation has also appealed to all faith leaders and service providers, such as caterers and tent decorators, to ensure that they are not party to any child marriage. As per the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006, those who perform, conduct, direct, or abet a child marriage face rigorous imprisonment of up to two years and/or a fine of up to ₹1 lakh. This applies to anyone involved in promoting, permitting, or negligently failing to prevent the marriage, including organisers, attendees, and service providers.

Notably, as part of the ‘Child Marriage Free India’ campaign, the NGO has been conducting awareness campaigns in schools, communities and villages; collaborating with faith leaders in this fight against child marriage; and working with law enforcement agencies to ensure prosecution of the offenders.