New Life Foundation welcomes Gram Sabha pledge to end child marriage
Source: The Sangai Express

Bishnupur, October 04 2026: New Life Foundation, Manipur welcomed the historic initiative by the Women and Child Development (WCD) Ministry and the Panchayati Raj Ministry, under which all gram sabhas in the country passed resolutions on October 2 to make their villages 'child marriage-free' .

The Union Government had written to all States and Union Territories, directing then to organise special Gram Sabhas on the occasion of Gardhi Jayanti and take a collective pledge to make India free from child marriage, said a press release by the secretary, New Life Foundation Manipur.

Dr L Pishak Singh, Secretary of New Life Foundation said that this initiative would sdd momentum to efforts to eliminate child marriage.

The director added that it would continue to work closely with the government and district administration towards this goal.

The organisation, New Life Foundation is a partner organisation of Just Rights for Children (JRC), India's largest network of civil society organisations working for the safety and protection of children.

Along with more than 300 partner organisations, JRC is working with governments and administrations across all 782 districts of India to eliminate the practice of child marriage.

Following the directions of the Central Government, more than 2.42 lakh special Gram Sabhas were organised across the country, during which resolutions were passed declaring the villages child marriage -free' .

Locals, elected representatives, Panchayat functionaries and Government officials present on the occasion took collective pledge to end the practice.

The initiative aims to accelerate progress towards creating child marriage-free villages.

Dr L Pishak Singh said, "We welcome the campaign launched by the the WCD Ministry and the Panchayati Raj Ministry to eliminate child marriage from every village through special Gram Sabhas across the country.

The steps being taken by the district magistrate in this regard are also commendable" .

'This initiative will give fresh momentum to the goal of making India free from child marriage by 2030 .

When the entire village and society stand united against this practice, change will happen much faster.

This will ensure that every girl has the opportunity to enjoy her childhood and pursue her dreams, rights that are guaranteed to her under Indian law".

JRC, with the participation of its partner civil society organisations, had launched a nationwide grassroots campaign with the goal of ending the practice of child marriage within a generation.

The campaign gained momentum in 2024 with the Government's Child Marriage-Free India campaign.

The impact of these efforts is already becoming visible, and this vision is expected to become a reality ahead of the set target, said the press release.

It may be noted that New Life Foundation is working at the grassroots level to eliminate child marriage in Bishnupur, Thoubal, Kakching, Imphal West, East, Churachandpur, Pherzawl, Tengnoupal, Chandel, Senapati, Noney, Tamenglong and Jiribam districts.

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