Awareness campaign for discussion ill effect of early marriage on girls and new born baby and its legal implications and government policies  

 

Village – Merheta

Date- 18/12/2023

Participant- 45

Objective-

The purpose of holding this meeting in the school was to make the girls and teachers aware and tell them about the harm caused by child marriage and dowry .

SUBJECT -

Child marriage and child labour are a toxic blend that ruins young lives. Many a time, early marriages are done to bring child brides into forced household chores. This has a serious burden on young girls which leads to health, safety, bodily integrity, and self-determination issues. In rural West Bengal, child marriage, according to NFHS-5, is much higher at 48.1 percent: the figure is 26.2 percent for urban areas. The fact that four out of ten women aged 20-24 are married off before 18, bells the alarm for the actors working in child rights.

 

The Surokhit Shaihav program sees a link between child marriage and child labour, being both are a violation of basic human rights and deprivation. Caritas India regularly organizes awareness programs on child marriage because of its hidden link with the issue of child labour. Caritas India engages with Anganwadi centres and schools under this program as the primary caregiver role of teachers and Anganwadi workers are very important. The adolescents’ knowledge, attitude and

 

practices are built on the issues of forced labour and early child marriage through this program.

He also talked about cybercrimes and how sharing one’s personal information or emotions on social sites can harm us in many ways. Schools now reopening and effective implementation of protection laws and policies, access to health education and socials services and providing comprehensive safety nets for vulnerable families can significantly reduce a child’s risk of having her/his childhood stolen through marriage.