New SC guidelines: Can collectively end child marriage before 2030, says civil society organisations

Jaipur, Oct 28 (IANS) Armed with the latest Supreme Court guidelines on child marriage, civil society organisations on Monday gathered in Jaipur and hoped to end the practice by 2030 while also extending full support to the state government in this endeavour.

NGO partners from the Just Rights for Children Alliance (JRCA) –Association for Voluntary Action and Gayatri Seva Sansthan – along with Child Marriage Free India addressed media in Jaipur on Monday to strategise on effectively eradicating child marriage in the backdrop of the Supreme Court guidelines.

She said that they will further intensify their work on the ground such as working with village authorities, spreading awareness among the masses and roping in faith leaders of different religions to eliminate child marriages.

The alliance supports the ‘Child Marriage Free India’ campaign, whose partners played a significant role as petitioners in the case that resulted in the apex court’s guidelines to eliminate child marriage.

The campaign, supported by JRCA, has already been working on the ground on the PICKET strategy which is echoed in the SC guidelines.

The PICKET strategy, espoused by the CMFI Founder Bhuwan Ribhu, stands for Policy, Institution, Collaboration or Convergence, Knowledge, Ecosystem, and Technology and it is with the implementation of this holistic approach that in the past year in which over 120,000 child marriages were prevented across the country.

Expressing gratitude over the Supreme Court judgment, Rajeev Bharadwaj, Convenor, Child Marriage Free India, said: “We have been committed to the rights of children in our country. Child marriage, entwined in the social fabric for centuries, needs a multipronged approach and this judgment further bolsters our resolve to end child marriage. As JRCA members, we will extend our complete support to the state government to ensure that no child in Rajasthan is forced into marriage and every child is educated and protected.”

Echoing similar thoughts, Manish Sharma, Senior Director, Association for Voluntary Action, said that child marriage is child rape, and its elimination requires a united effort from all stakeholders, from Panchayats to Police.

“The Supreme Court’s order reinforces what we have been following on the ground already. We stand with the government in every effort to end this heinous crime against children and we will collectively reach the tipping point to end child marriage, maybe even before 2030,” he said.

Just Rights For Children Alliance comprises over 180 NGOs across the country fighting for child protection and have been instrumental in many significant judgments ensuring child rights, the latest being the historic Supreme Court order on storing and sharing child pornography material as a crime.

Hearing a petition filed by Child Marriage Free India (CMFI) coalition partners, the SC passed a landmark judgment on October 18 and issued guidelines that focus on mobilising village communities to end child marriage.

Charting a slew of guidelines that focus on empowering children about their rights, sex education, making panchayats, school authorities and Child Marriage Protection Officers accountable for any child marriage being solemnised in their vicinity, the apex court has also directed that prevention, protection and prosecution model should be used to implement the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) 2006.

The court has also said that the approach should be community-driven and prosecution should be used as the last resort in preventing child marriage.

–IANS

arc/dan