Child Marriage Awareness Campaign Reaches 66,000 Villages

• ‘Bal Vivah Mukti Rath’ campaign concludes on International Women’s Day
• Awareness drive covered 28 states, 439 districts and 66,344 villages
• Over 52 million people reached through rallies, meetings and outreach events
• More than 1.98 lakh child marriages prevented in the past year

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 9th March: A nationwide campaign against child marriage concluded on International Women’s Day after travelling across thousands of villages and districts to raise awareness about the issue.

The ‘Bal Vivah Mukti Rath’ campaign, organised by the child rights network Just Rights for Children, covered 28 states, 439 districts and 66,344 villages over the past month, reaching more than 52 million people across the country.

During the campaign, more than 500 awareness vehicles were deployed to spread the message of a child marriage-free India and strengthen the Government of India’s 100-day intensive awareness drive against child marriage.

According to organisers, the campaign travelled a total distance of 6,79,077 kilometres, conducting 2,75,622 awareness programmes in villages and communities.

These programmes included rallies, street plays, cultural events, pledge ceremonies and community meetings highlighting the legal provisions against child marriage and its harmful impact, especially on girls.

The initiative also engaged 43,984 religious leaders and mobilised support from community leaders, police officials and civil society organisations to reinforce the message.

Just Rights for Children, the country’s largest network of civil society groups working on child protection and rights, operates with more than 250 partner organisations across 439 districts.

The campaign received widespread support from political leaders, government officials and community representatives across the country.

In several states, chief ministers, deputy chief ministers, members of parliament, district magistrates and legislative leaders flagged off the campaign vehicles.

Among them were Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who launched the campaign in their respective states.

Overall, 49 ministers, 82 members of parliament, 154 legislators and 99 district magistrates participated in launching the awareness drives across different districts.

Despite significant progress, government data for 2019–21 indicates that the child marriage rate in India remains at 23.3 percent, meaning nearly one in four girls is married before the age of 18.

Commenting on the campaign’s impact, Jyoti Mathur, Senior Advisor (Policy) at Just Rights for Children, said the initiative symbolised a broader movement for justice and accountability.

“This campaign is not just symbolic; it carries the message of law, protection and accountability to communities so that government intent translates into real safety for children,” she said.

Mathur added that the participation of political leaders, administrators, educators and women survivors of child marriage strengthened the campaign’s outreach.

She expressed confidence that India could eliminate child marriage even before the global target year of 2030.

Over the past year, coordinated efforts by Just Rights for Children and its partner organisations have helped prevent 1,98,628 child marriages across the country.

The awareness vehicles were equipped with posters, slogans, loudspeakers and pledge boards, allowing them to reach remote and marginalised communities.

While four-wheel vehicles carried the campaign across accessible regions, motorcycle and bicycle caravans were used to deliver the message in remote rural areas.

The campaign also collaborated with panchayats, district administrations and child marriage prohibition officers to mobilise communities and encourage citizens to take pledges against child marriage.

As part of the outreach, awareness messages reached 27,767 religious institutions and 39,221 schools, colleges and educational institutions across the country.