Not so long ago, a child protection officer with the government of Haryana was out in an area near Rohtak, trying to reason with a group of...
Not so long ago, a child protection officer with the government of Haryana was out in an area near Rohtak, trying to reason with a group of people about why child marriage was a harmful practice. What they had to say to her has stayed with her and me to this day: “If a daughter has a chance to get married and settle down in life, let her do so. Why do you want to uproot it?
This line conveys the complexity surrounding the scourge of child marriage in India and why communities see it as a solution . Our challenge? To nudge them to understand that this was actually the problem to begin with.
In a timely and welcome attempt to improve the lives and broader health outcomes for women and girls, the Central Government has set up a task force “to examine matters pertaining to the age of motherhood, imperatives of lowering maternal mortality rate, improvement of nutritional levels and other related matters”.
Expected to submit its report in a few weeks, the task force will suggest measures for promoting higher education among women and suitable legislative instruments and, if necessary, amendments in existing laws to support the recommendations. An implicit suggestion is for the task...
