Anti–Child Marriage Campaign in Rajasthan | 08 Dec 2025

Why in News? 

A civil society network has identified 38 high-risk districts in Rajasthan for a focused, year-long campaign to eliminate child marriage through community mobilisation and legal action.

Key Points 

• Previous Success: The network, Just Rights for Children (JRC), working with 17 partner organisations, reports having prevented 22,480 child marriages in Rajasthan over the past year. 
• Government Support: The initiative will complement the State government’s efforts, using panchayat-level resources to expand awareness campaigns into remote villages. 
• High-Prevalence Zones: The selected districts are classified as high-prevalence areas based on National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) data from 2019–21. 
• Community Engagement: JRC emphasises the involvement of community groups, faith leaders, panchayats, and citizens to collectively end child marriage, describing it as a crime against children. 
• Collaborative Action: The Rajasthan government has directed officials from Health, Panchayati Raj, Rural Development, Education and Higher Education departments to actively support and strengthen the anti-child-marriage campaign. 
• National Initiative:  
  • The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched a 100-day nationwide movement aimed at eliminating child marriage by 2030, aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 
• State Statistics:  
  • Rajasthan’s overall child marriage prevalence stands at 25.4%, slightly above the national average of 23.3%. 
  • Chittorgarh and Bhilwara report rates above 40%, while nine districts — including Jhalawar, Tonk, Sawai Madhopur, and Alwar — show prevalence above 30%. 
  • Another nine districts fall in the 23%–29.9% range, indicating widespread vulnerability across the State.