The State Government drive against child marriage in the State has solicited positive reviews across the caste, class, gender, and religion spectrum. Whereas it was long overdue, given the state of our society, what was surprising was that it took the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) data to jolt our conscience. Thanks to the political will displayed by the Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Cabinet, we will now be able to prevent many social ills from getting entrenched in the system. One of them being the ‘ransoming’ of young girls due to poverty and other reasons.
What is indeed surprising is that despite the prevalence of laws like Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012 and the Prevention of Child Marriages Act (PCMA), 2006, previous dispensations in Assam were oblivious to the crisis that was evolving. Unofficial data put the figure of underaged brides and mothers at over one lakh in the State. We do not have enough data to state unequivocally how many lives have been lost because of the perpetration of this practice. Therefore, the State Government needs to be complemented for thinking through the problem, and initiating measures such as financial aid and rehabilitation of the ’victims’.
Critics of the Government and those who have political considerations to nurture will list reasons as to why this action should not have been initiated or executed in a different way, but then they will be found wanting in their homework. Any Government action against prevailing societal ills has ramifications. But as the drive goes on, it is known that solutions start emerging. It is in the light of this that the present drive must be weighed.
The sign of a mature Government is that it never refuses to learn and adapt. If course correction is required, it will be there. However, what cannot be disputed is that nothing is more important than an action whose time has come.
The State Government drive against child marriage in the State has solicited positive reviews across the caste, class, gender, and religion spectrum. Whereas it was long overdue, given the state of our society, what was surprising was that it took the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) data to jolt our conscience. Thanks to the political will displayed by the Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Cabinet, we will now be able to prevent many social ills from getting entrenched in the system. One of them being the ‘ransoming’ of young girls due to poverty and other reasons.
What is indeed surprising is that despite the prevalence of laws like Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012 and the Prevention of Child Marriages Act (PCMA), 2006, previous dispensations in Assam were oblivious to the crisis that was evolving. Unofficial data put the figure of underaged brides and mothers at over one lakh in the State. We do not have enough data to state unequivocally how many lives have been lost because of the perpetration of this practice. Therefore, the State Government needs to be complemented for thinking through the problem, and initiating measures such as financial aid and rehabilitation of the ’victims’.
Critics of the Government and those who have political considerations to nurture will list reasons as to why this action should not have been initiated or executed in a different way, but then they will be found wanting in their homework. Any Government action against prevailing societal ills has ramifications. But as the drive goes on, it is known that solutions start emerging. It is in the light of this that the present drive must be weighed.
The sign of a mature Government is that it never refuses to learn and adapt. If course correction is required, it will be there. However, what cannot be disputed is that nothing is more important than an action whose time has come.
