Zunheboto villages and wards told to take pledge against child marriage

Every village and ward in Nagaland's Zunheboto district has been directed to hold an awareness campaign and take a pledge against child marriage, under the Centre's Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat (Child Marriage-Free India) initiative, The Morung Express reported on Sunday.

The direction came from Zunheboto Deputy Commissioner Dharam Raj in a circular dated November 3, addressed to all Village Council Chairmen, Gaon Burahs and ward Gaon Burahs in the district.

Deadline of November 27

The circular links the drive to a 100-day awareness campaign under the initiative and to the International Day for the Elimination of Child, Early and Forced Marriage, which the circular said falls on November 27.

Each village and ward must organise a campaign, take the pledge and send a photograph of the pledge-taking to the district's designated contact numbers on or before that date. Copies of the pledge and information, education and communication (IEC) material were sent with the circular for distribution and follow-up.

What the pledge says

The pledge asks individuals and communities not to support, encourage or take part in a child marriage, and to make sure no child is married before reaching the legal age. It also calls on people to raise awareness within families and communities about the harm such marriages cause, and to report cases to the authorities.

Parents, village leaders and community organisations are urged to work together to end the practice, and the text asks communities to respect the rights, dignity and freedom of every child so that villages can become child marriage-free.

Why village councils matter

In Nagaland, village councils and Gaon Burahs play a central role in everyday administration and in customary matters, which is why the district administration has routed the campaign through them rather than through government offices alone.

Under Indian law, the minimum legal age of marriage is 18 for women and 21 for men, and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 makes conducting or promoting a child marriage an offence.

The circular did not include figures on child marriage in Zunheboto district. Anyone who learns of a planned child marriage can alert the police, the district administration or the Childline emergency number 1098.