Under the banner of “Sajha Abhiyan” of the Rajasthan government, UNFPA and UNICEF, a district-level Abhiyan Yatra was flagged off in Dausa on Tuesday for complete elimination of child marriages in the State. A call was given on the occasion to make Rajasthan child-marriage-free.

 

Child marriage in Rajasthan continues to be much higher than the national average. In order to address the issue, the State government, with the support of UNFPA and UNICEF, has taken the lead in developing a comprehensive strategy and action plan for doing away with the marriages of minor boys and girls.

 

As part of ‘Sajha Abhiyan’ which started on July 18, multiple stakeholders, interventions and sectors are converging to address child marriage in the State as a unified force. The yatra will bring the community on a united platform to work towards making the State child marriage-free. Women and Child Development Minister Anita Bhadel flagged off the yatra, which will wind its way through as many as 50 village panchayats in the district during the next 25 days to generate awareness among the rural populace.

 

A significant aspect of the yatra is that it would apprise the people in the rural areas of the ill effects and harmful consequences of child marriage and convince them to get such marriages nullified if they have taken place in their families and neighbourhood.

 

via The Hindu