Guwahati, Aug 8: In order to put an end to child marriages, the Assam government on Thursday launched a scheme to provide monetary benefits to girl students every month.
The scheme-Mukhya Mantrir Nijut Moina Asoni (MMNMA) is expected to cover around one million girl students and cost the exchequer Rs 300 crore in the first year and around Rs 1500 crore over a five year period.
The scheme would increase the enrollment ratio of girls in schools, colleges, and universities, and around 200,000 more girl students are expected to enroll in educational institutions this year.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the National Family Health Survey 2019-21 had found that 31.8% of women in the age group of 20-24 were mothers, indicating that most of these women had gotten married before the legally permissible age of 18.
“They got married when they were not mature, had not completed their education, or were physically capable of bearing children. In some cases, these girls also ended up being victims of domestic violence,” CM added.
Taking to X, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “I received a very good suggestion from a young student during the launch of the #NijutMoina Asoni.We will work upon the suggestion and do the needful in this regard on creating more awareness for boys to prevent child marriage.”
