There is an urgent need to take possible steps unitedly to curb Child marriages : Minister Tukuni Sahu
Ending Child Marriage in Odisha – Webinar
Under age marriages in Odisha reduced from 37.2% to 21.3% over a decade
Bhubaneswar (Kalinga Voice) : In its bid to make “Odisha Child Marriage Free by 2030”, a webinar was organised on the theme “Ending Child Marriage in Odisha” where about 700officials and functionaries participated.
Odisha has seen a marked reduction in the prevalence of Child Marriage in the recent years. According to the National Family Health Survey under age marriages in Odisha reduced from 37.2% to 21.3% over a decade and is better than the national average of 26.8%. However, there are many districts where girls continue to face challenges of marrying at an early age.
The objective of the webinar was to provide a global perspective of the issue and orient the Child Marriage Prohibition Officers, and the Nodal Officers on their roles and responsibilities to accelerate action on ground.
Eminent speakers from UNFPA, UNICEF, legal experts and state level officials discussed various facets of ending child marriage.
Presiding over the meeting, Ms. TukuniSahoo,Hon’ble Minister, WCD & MShighlighted the strategic investments by state with investments in education, skill development, health and livelihoods for girls and women. Further, articulating her concern of the prevalence of child marriage in some districts, the minister said that there is an immediate need to take all possible steps by government, civil society and communities.
Ms. Argentina MatavelPiccin, Country Representative, UNFPA India enlightened the participants on the recently released “State of the World Population Report -2020”, in which one of the main themes is on ending Child Marriage globally. She reiterated the support of UNFPA and all United Nations agencies present in the State to the Government of Odisha in its quest to eliminate discrimination and promote gender equality.
Ms. Soledad Herrero, Chief of Child Protection, UNICEF India spoke about the Global Programme to End Child Marriage which is being implemented in 12 countries including India. Ms. Herrero mentioned that the pandemic has disrupted global efforts to end child marriage and it may reverse the progress made so far and hence there is a greater need for synergetic approach to address this issue.
Accelerating reduction and ensuring that the state is free of child marriage by 2030 was the key message by MsAnu Garg, Principal Secretary, DWCD and MS. In November 2019, the state government launched a multi-sectoral, Strategic Action Plan to End Child Marriage. The PCMA state rules have beenamended and a state monitoring committee constituted to review PCMA and implementation of the action plan.All CDPOs have been designated as Child Marriage Prohibition Officers and a series of training and capacity-buildingprogrammes are being organised. In the backdrop of the pandemic, she specifically asked her officials and frontline functionaries to keep a close vigil on child marriages.
In 16 districts, where the child marriage is above the state’s average (21%), actions have been stepped up with engagement of community level institutions and NGOs. Ms. Gargappreciated efforts of districts and partners and especially acknowledged the support of UNFPA and UNICEF for their support in the fight against Child Marriage.
Ms. Sujata Karthikeyan, Commissioner Mission Shakti, discussed how the strong network of 6 lakh Women Self Help Groups can be roped in for social changes towards addressing child marriage
Ms. Ujjawala, Human Rights Lawyer and national trainer elucidated the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act(PCMA) and the Odisha PCMA Rules, 2019.
Mr. Aravind Agrawal, Director, ICDS discussed on the roles and responsibilities of CMPOs and directed them to report any such incidences without fail.
