On September 4, the United Nations passed a resolution declaring November 27 the International Day for the Elimination of Child, Early and Forced Marriage.

About six months ago, Bhuwan Ribhu, founder of Just Rights for Children (JRC), addressed the United Nations and reiterated his call for a UN resolution to mark November 27 as the International Day for the Elimination of Child, Early, and Forced Marriage. Dr Fatima Maada Bio, First Lady of Sierra Leone, along with other international leaders, supported the call. Sierra Leone subsequently led the effort by submitting a resolution to the UN General Assembly seeking the designation, which was co-sponsored by 50 nations, including India.

Ribhu, who was the only civil society representative present at the UN when the resolution was adopted, said: “The Child Marriage Free India campaign, which started first by the children and communities, has today become an International Day accepted by the world. It is a moment of great pride for all Indians, and I would like to thank the children, the community leaders, the faith leaders, and my NGO partners whose hard work made today possible. The world is looking at us, and our work has only just begun.”

He added: “Today marks the tipping point, showing that the end of the crime of child marriage is inevitable and imminent. Now is the time for governments globally to provide decisive leadership to end child marriage by 2030. I am grateful to the First Lady of Sierra Leone for her leadership, and to over 67 countries that cosponsored our resolution.”

It was on November 27, 2024, that the Union government launched its ‘Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat’ campaign against child marriage.

According to the 2019–21 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), 23.3 percent of women aged 20–24 were married before the age of 18. This fell to 20.1 percent in NFHS-6 (2023–24). 

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