With around 20 million people from across the country pledging to end child marriage, Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi and Leymah Gbowee on Sunday launched a nationwide campaign to put an end to this practice. Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF) will spearhead the biggest-ever campaign to raise public awareness against child marriage, a statement said.
As a part of the launch campaign, 70,000 women and girls led people in lighting lamps, torchlight procession in around 10,000 villages (6,015 villages by KSCF and the rest by government and other agencies) from over 500 districts in 26 states. Government agencies including the Railway Protection Force (RPF), the Women and child development department of 14 states, state child protection authorities, state legal services authorities, anganwadis and district administration of several state governments joined in support of the nationwide campaign.
Highlighting the plight of the child marriage survivors, laureate Kailash Satyarthi said, ”Child marriage is a violation of human rights and dignity, which unfortunately still has social acceptance. This social evil propels an unending list of crimes against children, especially against our daughters.” He said that he supports the government’s proposal to increase the marriageable age of girls from 18 to 21.
Liberian laureate Gbowee said, ”Child marriage is an appalling practice that exists globally. We must put an end to this human rights violation. Our collective humanity demands this.”
