Ground Zero on child brides from very poor families of Hyderabad being married of Arabs with the help of touts and willing Qazis. Very few are willing to come on record on these child marriages. Photo: Nagara Gopal | Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL
According to the latest National Family Health Survey-5, almost 33 crore children out of a total of 141.2 crore people were married away.
The UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage say the Covid-19 pandemic led to a spike in child marriages.
According to the NFHS, girls with either or below primary level education have experienced higher levels of child marriage.
Poverty and lack of good public infrastructure are also mentioned as causes for the practice to go on.
Laws like Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, aim at protecting children from violation of human and other rights.
The Union government is also considering raising the age of marriage for women to 21 years.
Read more about the steps taken by the government to end child marriage
