In a unprecedented show of solidarity, hundreds of villages in 22 districts of West Bengal organized awareness programs where an unprecedented number of men, women, and children pledged to eliminate child marriage from the state. The government directed the initiative, ‘Child Marriage Free India’, which involved people from various sectors, including police stations, courtrooms, panchayats, and community centers, from young children to old women survivors of child marriage. The entire country witnessed an overwhelming response, with crores of people joining in and taking pledges to end child marriage.
Child Marriage Free India is a campaign by women activists and 160 civil society organizations in over 300 districts of India aiming to eliminate child marriage by 2030. The campaign features candle marches led by women survivors, involving people from all social strata, promoting the message that child marriage has no place in new West Bengal.
The campaign is filled with enthusiasm and commitment. Ravi Kant, Country Head, KailashSatyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF), said, “It is commendable that governments in all the states are on a mission to end child marriage and gives the entire cause a new momentum and confidence.”
