Jharkhand Launches Initiative to Eradicate Child Marriage

The Just Rights for Children (JRC) initiative targets all 24 districts in Jharkhand under the 'Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat' campaign to eradicate child marriage. The organization's nationwide goal aims for 100,000 villages to become child marriage-free by 2030. Community engagement and education are prioritized in a phased action plan.

In an ambitious move, the child protection organization Just Rights for Children (JRC) has launched a comprehensive intervention program across Jharkhand's 24 districts. This is part of their mission to make one lakh villages nationwide free from child marriage within a year, as per the ‘Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat’ campaign.

The program responds to alarming statistics from the National Family Health Survey, which reveals Jharkhand's child marriage rate of 32.2%, significantly higher than the national average of 23.3%. The JRC aims to address these figures through a structured plan involving local community leaders, faith groups, and educational institutions.

JRC has already made significant strides, having prevented over one lakh child marriages nationally in the past year alone. The campaign utilizes a 3P model—Protection, Prevention, and Prosecution—engaging various societal sectors, from schools to municipal wards, to foster awareness and legal interventions at all levels.