Regional Conference on Child Marriage held In Bhubaneswar

KalingaTV News Network

Bhubaneswar: In a bid to create awareness among all stake holders, a two-day regional conference on child marriage started here on Thursday. The programme which will end today, was organised by the Department of Women and Child Development and Mission Shakti, Government of Odisha in collaboration with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children.

Speaking on the occasion, State Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi highlighted the steps taken and the schemes launched by Odisha Government to curb the practice which is mostly prevalent in tribal-dominated districts.

“The Odisha Government has implemented various schemes to promote education among girl children in tribal dominated districts including Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Mayurbhanj, Koraput, Rayagada. The schemes include free boarding school education for tribal children, Cycle Yojana etc” Padhi said.

West Bengal has recorded the country’s highest child marriages with 40.7 per cent, followed by Bihar 39.1 per cent, Jharkhand 38 per cent, Assam 32.7 per cent and Odisha and Chhattisgarh 21.3 per cent each. Odisha ranks 13th in the list, according to a survey conducted in 2015-16.

Among others, NHRC secretary general Ambuj Sharma, Odisha Home Secretary Asit Tripathy, Director General of South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children Rinchen Chophel and Indian Alliance for Child Rights (IACR) President Razia Ismail were present on the occasion.