Bengal govt to build awareness among boys, girls on harmful effects of child marriage
Panja, the minister for women and child development and social welfare, said it is not just girls alone, boys also have to be educated about the ill effects of early marriage.
"They should be demotivated from marrying before their legal age of marriage too," Panja said on Monday at a 'State Level Consultation on Adolescent Empowerment' attended by government officials from various departments working together to end child marriage.
She urged the officials assembled in the programme to share their experiences in fighting the menace since the launch of the District Action Plan three years ago, and later the Child Marriage Reporting and Tracking Mechanism.
The state reported more than 41 per cent of girls getting married underage in the National Family Health Survey-5 released in 2020-21.
"Building awareness in society is the key to stopping this. Also include men and boys more in the meetings on child marriage with girls and women," Panja told officials after releasing 'Guidelines for Implementation of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 in West Bengal'.
The state government, in collaboration with UNICEF, prepared a District Action Plan in 2022 to counter child marriage.
Panja, women and child development department's principal secretary Sanghamitra Ghosh, Dr Monjur Hossain, chief of UNICEF in West Bengal and other officials listened to the successes and challenges faced by the district officials, UNICEF said in a press release.
The minister asked the officials from the departments of health and family welfare, school education, panchayat and rural development, technical education, training and skill development to deal with the problem more empathetically as present-day adolescents are exposed to many lures and distractions, including online and social media platforms on mobile phones, according to the release.
Panja also emphasised that 'Kanyashree Prakalpa' has now been empowering adolescent girls on online safety, besides motivating them to remain in school and not get married.
In NFHS-5, the maximum child marriages were reported from Purba Medinipur followed by Purba Bardhaman and Jalpaiguri being the lowest at 18 per cent.
The state government, with the help of UNICEF, launched the Child Marriage Reporting and Tracking Mechanism in 2023 to collect data from the districts and portray the real-time situation, Ghosh said, urging the officials to use the resources regularly.
Describing this consultation as "A renewed call to action", Hossain said the holistic development of adolescents requires concerted, coordinated and multi-sectoral actions by all stakeholders concerned.
"The involvement of key community influencers, panchayat members, SHGs, religious leaders, teachers, students, youths and adolescents is necessary to challenge harmful norms and support girls' and boys' empowerment," he added.
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