Srinagar, January 10: District Legal Services Authority, Srinagar organised an awareness programme at Gandtal, Dhara, Srinagar, aimed at sensitizing the local population on critical social and legal issues of Child Marriage.
The programme, as per an official statement issued on Saturday, was conducted under the aegis of the Jammu and Kashmir Legal Services Authority as part of the nationwide 100-day intensive awareness campaign “Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat”, launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India.
The campaign seeks to strengthen legal awareness, outreach and rapid preventive intervention mechanisms at the grassroots level, in consonance with the ASHA (Awareness, Support, Help & Action) framework.
During the programme, Para Legal Volunteers of DLSA Srinagar actively interacted with the residents of the area and apprised them of the harmful social, legal and health consequences of child marriage. Emphasis was laid on the legal provisions prohibiting child marriage, the rights of children, especially girls and the role of the community in identifying, reporting and preventing such practices at an early stage.
The Para Legal Volunteers also informed the locals about the availability of free legal services, counselling and support mechanisms provided by the Legal Services Authorities. The participants were encouraged to act as vigilant stakeholders and to promptly approach legal aid institutions, helplines or local authorities in cases requiring intervention, thereby contributing towards the collective goal of achieving a child marriage free society.
