Keonjhar: Despite the spread of education and awareness drives by civil societies against child marriages, this social malady continues to prevail in some remote pockets of Keonjhar district. Most of the cases go unreported while a few are caught with action and interventions.
Significantly, some child reporters have vowed to check the unhealthy practice in the district.
According to a survey, the rate of child marriage in the district is over 28 per cent. Such abominable practice still exists despite the department of women and child development and Mission Shakti having launched a state Strategic Action Plan (SAP) with the support of UNICEF and UNFPA, it was said.
The data was revealed at a workshop here Friday. At the workshop, 32 child reporters expressed their concern and deliberated on the issue. They also suggested various ways to tackle the issue.
Scores of media persons were also present. Child reporters like Parbati Sethi and Pabitra Munda highlighted factors leading to child marriages in rural pockets.
As far as child marriage is concerned, the district has been placed at 8th position while the per cent of the child marriage was recorded at 28.
The child reporters, members of civil societies, child protection officer of Deogarh Romeo Mohapatra laid stress on proactive role of NGOs, village committees and child protection committees to check child marriages in the district.
They talked about new rules on the prevention of child marriage along with an action plan.
Articulating their concern over the prevalence of child marriages in tribal pockets, the stakeholders said, “There is an immediate need to take all possible steps by the government, civil society, communities and families to take proactive action to stop this social evil deeply embedded in social practices.”
Notably, the state government is accelerating a process to ensure that the state is child marriage free by 2030 with emphasis on convergence among different departments like police, school and mass education, judiciary, higher education and skill development who have key roles in preventing occurrences of child marriage.
