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Bal Vivah Se Azadi

Shrushti Seva Samiti is a not-for-profit organization with Special Consultative Status in United Nation Economic Social Council (UN ECOSOC) and an ISO 9001:2015 certified non-profit, non-government and non-religious voluntary organization operating in the rural, urban, tribal and far-flung habitations with a key focus area on Education, Environment, Mother & Child Care, Livelihood, Child Protection, Water & Sanitation, Women empowerment & Skill development training, seamlessly connects grassroots development in a holistic way. Currently, Organization is operational in 28 districts of 03 states named Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh in above mentioned thematic areas with a team of over 840 personnel. Currently, we are actively working with 1.2 rural households with reach up to 6.1 million people.


The organization participated and organized Child Marriage Free India Campaign in Barmer, Dungarpur and Kota districts of Rajasthan covering over 450 villages under the project.



The Campaign Activities included

  1. In June, Shrushti spearheaded an Action Month with the aim of achieving a Child Marriage Free India. During this initiative, we successfully prevented 10 child marriages and obtained 10 injunction orders. This campaign was executed in partnership with various organizations including DCPU, CWC, DLSA, ICPS, Panchayat Secretary, Police, and Child Line. To date, our collective efforts have halted a total of 17 child marriages.

  2. 11th October 2023– District Consultation Meet – The District Consultation Meet convened to address the critical issue of child marriage, involving key departments such as DLSA, DCPU, ICDS, Education Department, Health Department, RPF, Police Department, and AHTU. This event took place in both Kota and Dungarpur districts of Rajasthan. As part of the campaign, a notable book titled "When Children Have Children" was also launched.

  3. 16 October 2023 - Child Marriage Free India Campaign Event – The campaign event spanned across 796 locations, encompassing Barmer, Dungarpur, Kota, Baran, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Pali, Chittorgarh, Sirohi, Pratapgarh, and Banswara districts of Rajasthan State, conducted in collaboration with DLSA, DCPU, Education, Health, ICDS, Colleges, and RPF. Shrushti Seva Samiti, in partnership with the Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation, inaugurated the #BalVivahSeAzadi - End Child Marriage Campaign, spanning the districts of Barmer, Dungarpur, and Kota in Rajasthan. This impactful campaign was propelled by a three-fold mission: educating communities about the harmful repercussions of child marriage, rallying approximately 60,000 individuals to pledge against this detrimental practice, and instilling lasting social change through awareness hashtags like #BalVivahSeAzadi, #FreedomNow, and #EndChildMarriage. Through a series of awareness workshops, interactive discussions, and community gatherings, the campaign illuminated the physical, emotional, and social impacts of child marriage, while empowering individuals and villages to combat it. Our collective effort has resulted in a future where child marriage is eradicated, ensuring every child's right to a secure and fulfilling childhood.


KSCF News

Background

Child marriage is not just an age-old social evil, but also a heinous crime that robs children of their childhood. Child marriage is a “crime against children” that violates basic human rights, minor girls are forced to marry and live a life of mental trauma, physical and biological stress, domestic violence including limited access to education and increased vulnerability to domestic violence. The consequences of child marriage are severe and extensive. Some of the specific consequences include: early pregnancies leading to complications and higher rate of maternal mortality and death of infants, malnutrition among both the infant and the mother, increased vulnerability to reproductive health, disruption in girl’s education and thereby reduction in opportunities of her personal and professional development, domestic violence and abuse, limited decision-making powers in the household, and mental health issues.


India’s Census 2011 revealed 12 million children were married before attaining the legal age, of which 5.2 million were girls. Globally, child marriage is identified as a crime and a menace that needs to be eliminated. It finds space in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, under target 5.3 of Goal 5 that states elimination of all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation by 2025.


The latest National Family Health Survey (2019-21) shows that although there is a drop in the overall rate of child marriages, from 26.8% in the National Family Health Survey (NFHS 4) to 23.3% in NFHS-5, it is still high despite laws, programmes and schemes in place to address the issue.



Child Marriage Free India Campaign

Understanding the seriousness of the issue, the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in W.P. Civil 382 of 2013 pronounced that the sexual intercourse committed by the husband upon his wife being under the age of 18 years with or without her consent can be constituted as rape. To address this, the most definitive and audacious commitment to end child marriage was made with the launch of Child Marriage Free India campaign.


Child Marriage Free India (CMFI) is a nationwide campaign led by women leaders and a coalition of more than 160 NGOs spanning more than 300 districts working to eliminate child marriage in India. CMFI is working to attain the tipping point of child marriage, after which the society does not accept this evil practice and that will happen when the prevalence of child marriage is brought down to 5.5% by 2030, from the current national prevalence rate of 23.3%. This is being done by initially targeting 257 high-prevalence districts and gradually focusing on all the districts of the country.


Child marriage results in child rape, resulting in child pregnancy, and in a large number of cases, may lead to child deaths. For decades, we have been losing generations of our children to child marriage. The Child Marriage Free India campaign has received extended support from various Departments and Institutions of over 28 States. So far, across India more than 5 crore people have taken the pledge to end child marriage over the last one year through the efforts of the Child Marriage Free India Campaign.


Know more about the Child Marriage Free India (CMFI) Campaign : https://www.childmarriagefreeindia.org/





The Way Forward: PICKET Strategy to End Child Marriage

Addressing the issue of child marriage, requires a comprehensive and coordinated approach of different government departments, institutions, statutory bodies, and civil society organisations.





Tipping Point to end child marriage

WHEN CHILDREN HAVE CHILDREN - TIPPING POINT TO END CHILD MARRIAGE Book authored by Mr. Bhuwan Ribhu is an action plan to eliminate child marriage in India by 2030. It looks at the existing data on child marriage and lists 257 districts in India where the issue of child marriage is worst, which means where the occurrence of this evil practice is highest as compared to national numbers.

Tipping Point is the threshold required in an ecosystem needed to tilt the scale of the problem towards a point of no-return. The Tipping Point of Child Marriage is the critical point after which the society does not accept child marriage.


Tipping Point Methodology - The aim of reduction of 60 percent of child marriage is assumed to bring down the incidence of child marriage to 5.5 percent in the next nine years from 2021, from the last available estimates i.e., NFHS-5, till 2030. An additional assumption is that such a focused and elaborate intervention against child marriage would have a ripple effect.


In order to reach the Tipping Point, the Author proposes strategy at national and district level.


  1. National Level strategy : where Governments, Institutions, statutory bodies, etc. work towards prevention, protection, increased investment, improved prosecution, convergence and use of technology for monitoring

  2. District Level strategy : is similar to national level strategy but includes district administration, Panchayats, civil society, NGOs, other functionaries, parents and children who work collectively to prevent, report, and take action against child marriage




Case Study – Preventing Child Marriage
Ritu's Triumph Over Forced Fate

In the realm of child rights, the case of Ritu, a 13-year-old girl from Nithauwa, Tehsil Simalwara, Rajasthan, serves as a poignant illustration. Born on 5th August 2011, Ritu is a diligent 6th-grade student at Government Senior Secondary School, Bankara, Dungarpur. Following the demise of her father, Late Banwari Labana, she found herself at the precipice of an unsettling situation.


The alert came on 24th March 2023 when the District Legal Services Authority, Dungarpur, issued an injunction order to thwart an impending child marriage. The order, directed to the Judicial Magistrate and Chairman of the Taluka Legal Services Committee, Simalwara, sought to protect Ritu from an undesired fate. The pivotal moment came on 12th April 2023 when our team, apprised of the situation, liaised with the Dhambola police station and took immediate action.


Accompanied by the Tehsildar of Simalwara, our team reached Nithauwa, where they engaged in a conversation with Ritu, her sister, and their mother, Roopa Devi. The revelations were disheartening – the impending marriage was orchestrated by the maternal uncle due to the absence of a father figure. Both girls had adorned their hands with henna, a visible manifestation of the looming marriage. Through counseling, our team managed to convince the girls to reject the proposed union.


Subsequently, on 12th April 2023, the Tehsildar restrained Roopa Devi and the maternal uncle from proceeding with the ill-fated child marriage, warning of legal consequences in case of non-compliance. The successful intervention ensured that Ritu could continue her education, currently progressing through the 7th grade. This case stands as a testament to the collaborative efforts of legal authorities and advocates in safeguarding the rights and future of vulnerable children.





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