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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