CHILDLINE has rescued more than 26,000 children from child marriage during the Covid-19 pandemic.
It is estimated that there are about 650 million child brides in the world, out of which India is home to 223 million i.e. 1 in 3 child brides reside in the country. Off this outrageous number, 102 million girls were married before the age of 15 years. The National Family and Health Survey (NFHS) IV 2015-16, registered the percentage of women (aged 20-24 years) married before attaining the legal age of 18 years as 26.8%, which was found to be less than 47.2% registered in NFHS III (2005-06). Hence, if given impetus, this harmful practice can be decelerated and be eliminated for once.
The largest population of child brides residing in the country is found in states such as Bihar (43%), West Bengal (42%), Jharkhand (38%), Rajasthan (36%), Andhra Pradesh (34%) and Madhya Pradesh (33%).
Child India Foundation (CIF) can play an instrumental role in eliminating child marriage in India and to bring the young children under the child protection system by extending the safety net to children most vulnerable to their rights being violated.
The CHILDLINE 1098 service is available to children in more than 600 districts across 35 States/UTs in India, through a well-integrated network of 925 partner organizations (as on August 31st 2021). In addition to being the first responders to children in need of care and protection and offering comfort to those in distress, it also plays a critical role in shaping and implementing the existing national child protection mechanisms.
Your donation will go a long way in supporting our work in preventing child marriages and protecting children in need of care.
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