Sensitization Programme on the Prevention of Early Marriage and Early Pregnancy in Assam

The ASCPCR organized a Sensitization Programme on the Prevention of Early Marriage and Early Pregnancy in Assam’, with support from NCPCR, on September 14th 2017, in Tinsukia District.

The Commission, after studying the status of child marriages in the state, felt the urgent need to address the issue and generate sensitization on the matter, as a rise in child marriages, is not only jeopardizing the very right of a girl (child bride) to live and develop, but also fall more at the risk of facing violence, abuse and exposure to HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Also to sensitize people on the dangers of underage motherhood as adolescents, and after effects of deprivation from education at an early age, were aimed at.

(Adolescent pregnancy can lead to several health problems -- anemia, malaria, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections, postpartum hemorrhage and mental disorders, according to WHO) The sessions dealt with issues like concept of child marriage, legal, social, socio-cultural, psycho-social and health aspects of early marriage and early pregnancy and open discussions on how to curb the wrong practice. The programmeaimed at developing collaborative strategies, and through mutual learning, review the way policies and programmes are formulated and implemented both from governance and social dimension perspective with special focus to the child rights perspective.