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States urged take steps to prevent child marriages
With an aim to prevent child marriages, particularly on the occasion of Akshay Tritiya, the government has asked state governments to appoint prohibition officers and take necessary steps to curb the practice.
New Delhi: With an aim to prevent child
marriages, particularly on the occasion of Akshay Tritiya, the government has asked state governments to appoint prohibition
officers and take necessary steps to curb the practice.
"Government has written to state governments to appoint prohibition officers under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, frame rules and take steps to prevent child marriage, particularly on the occasion of Akha Teej or Akshay Tritiya," Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath told the Lok Sabha today.
The Centre has written to 17 state governments in this regard, namely Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh.
Tirath said that the National Commission for Women (NCW) has requested the Chief Ministers to sensitise and gear up concerned machinery against those involved in the practice of child marriages. "Workshops, seminars and legal awareness camps are organised in various states including Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to spread awareness and bring attitudinal changes to prevent child marriage," she said.
As per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)- III in 2005-06, the percentage of girls getting married by the age of 18 was the highest in Bihar at 63.7 per cent, followed by Jharkhand with 60.2 per cent. The all India average was recorded at 45.6 per cent.
PTI
"Government has written to state governments to appoint prohibition officers under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, frame rules and take steps to prevent child marriage, particularly on the occasion of Akha Teej or Akshay Tritiya," Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath told the Lok Sabha today.
The Centre has written to 17 state governments in this regard, namely Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh.
Tirath said that the National Commission for Women (NCW) has requested the Chief Ministers to sensitise and gear up concerned machinery against those involved in the practice of child marriages. "Workshops, seminars and legal awareness camps are organised in various states including Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to spread awareness and bring attitudinal changes to prevent child marriage," she said.
As per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS)- III in 2005-06, the percentage of girls getting married by the age of 18 was the highest in Bihar at 63.7 per cent, followed by Jharkhand with 60.2 per cent. The all India average was recorded at 45.6 per cent.
PTI