Nirbhaya Kadhi Campaign

Ganjam district of Odisha has declared itself a child marriage free district, first in the State.

Key Facts

• In last two years, 2020 & 2021, Ganjam district administration has been able to stop around 450 child marriages and video-record 48,383 marriages.
• Administration has also made Aadhaar card mandatory to produce for any marriages to take place.

Nirbhaya Kadhi (Fearless Bud)

Nirbhaya Kadhi programme was started in Ganjam. The campaign was started with the objective of preventing adolescent girls from dropping out of school, and counselling them. Under the programme, all the heads of educational institutes were directed to inform administration if girl aged 12 to 18 years remained absent from school for five days. Around one lakh teenagers have undergone counselling under the programme, in past two years.

Award on producing information

Administration had also announced Rs 5,000 for those informing about any child marriage. This amount has now been increased to Rs 50,000.

Prevalence of Child Marriage in India

According to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates, at least 1.5 million girls under 18 get married in India each year. This makes India a home to largest number of child brides worldwide.