On Sunday, the Minister for Women and Child Development in Rajasthan Anita Bhadel announced that the number of child marriages in Rajasthan has reduced. She said this to highlight the importance and need for education in the state and across the country. She made a clear connection stating that education is indeed playing a vital role in reducing the number of child marriages in the state. She said that the education levels have promoted awareness, which has led to a whopping 30% reduction in the rate of child marriage in Rajasthan, which is a very significant amount. Such a reduction in the state has not been seen before, and the logic behind Bhadel’s statements definitely seems warranted and valid. It is indeed a proud day for education in India when a state which has traditionally had much inertia in this issue, is seeing a monumental shift in terms of the mentality of the common people.

Bhadel is the state minister of independent charge for the Ministry of Women and Child Development in Rajasthan. She had made this statement as a part of an event at the city of Jaipur during the celebrations for International Women’s Day. Kalicharan Saraf, who is the Health Minister for the state of Rajasthan, also added weight to this analysis by Bhadel by highlighting the medals being won by girls for India at the Olympics. By doing so the minister wanted to point out that women indeed were no less than men in their ability to strive for and achieve greatness on an international scale. This shows that it is the women who have made our country proud at the Olympics and that there must be a change brought into society at a very fundamental level which focusses more on helping women get equal rights and be treated as peers and not lesser people.

A Turn for the Better

This potential for greatness among women and girls is one that has been overlooked for far too long, and the country is only now beginning to take steps towards rectifying this oversight. Kiran Maheshwari, who is the state’s Minister of Higher Education spoke about how there is no possible way of imagining a healthy and productive society without women and girls to truly enrich it with their wonderful potential. She said that curbing child marriage is of paramount importance, as this societal evil has existed for far too long putting a grave limit of the rights of girls and their ability to reach their complete and full potential. Helping them to realize this potential is everyone’s responsibility.

Suman Sharma, the chairman of the state’s Women Commission, stated that women have always been strong and brilliant members of Indian society. He said in helping them realize their true complete potential, we create a foundation for the growth of the nation and allow it to reach new levels of excellence. The event also saw the organization of a six-kilometre-long marathon which had been organized by the event coordinators. The run was in support of the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ programme and campaign, which has been a mainstay for Rajasthan of late, and has clearly been successful.