New York: India has made unprecedented progress in curbing child marriage, showing the world that ending the centuries-old practice is possible within a decade. A new report launched during the United Nations General Assembly in New York revealed that child marriages of girls in India declined by 69% and of boys by 72% over the past three years.
The study, Tipping Point to Zero: Evidence Towards a Child Marriage Free India, was prepared by the Centre for Legal Action and Behaviour Change for Children (C-LAB) and released by Just Rights for Children (JRC), one of the world’s largest child protection NGO networks.
A Transformation on Scale
Assam achieved the most striking results with an 84% decline, followed by Maharashtra and Bihar (70% each), Rajasthan (66%) and Karnataka (55%). JRC recognised Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma with its ‘Champions of Change’ award for his government’s aggressive crackdown on child marriage.
Blueprint for the World
Bhuwan Ribhu, Founder of JRC, called India’s progress “a blueprint for the world,” emphasising that prevention, protection, and prosecution — backed by political will and community participation — are the keys to success.
“India is on the verge of ending child marriage. With strong laws, grassroots partnerships, and children’s voices at the centre, this is proof that the goal is both possible and inevitable,” Ribhu said at the launch.
Global Participation
The UNGA side event, “Creating a Child Marriage Free World: Building the Case for Prevention, Protection and Prosecution”, was co-hosted with the First Lady of Sierra Leone, the Governments of Sierra Leone and Kenya, and the World Jurist Association. It featured global leaders including Dr. Najat Maalla M’jid (UN Special Representative on Violence Against Children), Norway’s Development Minister Åsmund Aukrust, France’s Human Rights Ambassador Isabelle Rome, and Kerry Kennedy, President of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights.
Impact and Scale
Since 2023, JRC claims to have supported over 500,000 children in India, prevented nearly 400,000 child marriages, rescued more than 100,000 children from trafficking, and filed over 74,000 cases against traffickers.
Next Steps
The report urges India and the world to push for strict enforcement, compulsory registration of marriages, and the declaration of a global day against child marriage.
