Rajasthan High Court issued directives to State Government to prevent child marriages | Current Affairs | Vision IAS
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Rajasthan High Court issued directives to State Government to prevent child marriages

Posted 03 May 2024

2 min read

  • Directives were issued ahead of the Akshay Tritiya festival which sees a significant number of child marriages in the State. 
  • The court said that village heads and panchayat members will be held accountable if child marriages are solemnised.
    • Under Rajasthan Panchayati Raj Rules 1996, sarpanch is duty bound to restrict child marriages.

 

  • About child marriages
    • Child marriage refers to any formal marriage or informal union between a child under 18 and an adult or another child (UNICEF).   
    • Girls are disproportionately affected by the practice. 
    • In India, under Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) 2006 minimum age for marriage is 18 years for women and 21 years for Men. 
      • Section 16 empowers the State Government to appoint Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPO) either for the entire state or specific regions. 
      • CMPOs are mandated to create awareness about the detrimental effects of child marriages

 

  • Reasons for Child Marriages: Gender inequality, social and religious norms, poverty, lack of education, control over sexuality of women, etc.

 

  • Current statusPercentage of women aged 20–24 years married before 18 years of age reduced from 47.4% in 2005-06 to 23.3% in 2019-21 (NFHS).
  • Tags :
  • Child Marriage
  • Prohibition of Child Marriage Act
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