Nabarangpur: Child marriage and teenage pregnancies have emerged as grave concerns in Nabarangpur district, with officials pointing to lack of awareness as a key factor. Figures from the District Social Welfare department show that between 2020 and August 2025, authorities prevented 1,638 child marriages. Yet the same period recorded 7,559 pregnancies among minors, despite repeated government campaigns and awareness drives. The statistics have heightened worries over the district’s social health.
The law prescribes punishment for intermediaries, priests, and parents who facilitate child marriages. However, many families continue to defy the rules, marrying off their daughters at a young age. Officials intervene whenever they receive reports, and awareness campaigns are carried out in schools and colleges. Experts argue that such measures will have limited effect unless families themselves understand the consequences of early marriage.
The department’s records reveal that 1,552 minor girls became pregnant in 2020-21, followed by 1,569 in 2021-22, 1,301 in 2022-23, 1,797 in 2023-24, and 1,339 in the first four months of 2024-25. Child marriage prevention drives stopped 78 weddings in 2020, 144 in 2021, 297 in 2022, 440 in 2023, 337 in 2024, and 306 by August 2025.
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The Health department’s figures, however, do not fully align with those of the Social Welfare department. Health officials reported 1,557 cases of underage pregnancies between 2022-23 and August 2025, with 473 recorded in 2022-23, 599 in 2023-24, and 485 in 2024-25. Activists and social workers say the situation highlights a disturbing reality. Marriages below the legal age of 18 jeopardize the physical and mental well-being of girls and impede social progress. Poverty drives many families to marry off their daughters early to ease financial pressure, but this practice places minors at risk of health complications, unsafe motherhood, and threats to survival of both mother and child. Traditional practices and social pressures continue to reinforce child marriage in some communities.
Lack of awareness means parents fail to grasp its harmful effects. Once married, girls are forced to drop out of school, contributing to the district’s growing dropout rate. They are also more vulnerable to domestic violence and social neglect. Experts emphasise that stricter enforcement of laws prohibiting child marriage, coupled with sustained awareness drives, is essential. They warn that child marriage not only darkens the future of individual girls but also obstructs the development of society as a whole.
