Workshop highlights media’s role in combating high child marriage rates in Tripura

A media workshop titled "Promote a Public Narrative on Increasing the Value of the Girl Child" held in Agartala on Wednesday.

The workshop aimed to create awareness among Tripura’s media fraternity about the alarming prevalence of child marriages in the state was organized by Guwahati-based Centre for Development and Peace Studies (CDPS), in collaboration with UNICEF.

The workshop brought together prominent speakers, including Wasbir Hussain, Editor-in-Chief of North East Live and founder member of CDPS, Prof. Yogesh Pratap Singh, founding Vice-Chancellor of National Law University, Tripura, Pranab Sarkar, Editor of Headlines Tripura and president of the Journalist Union, senior journalist Sayed Sajjad Ali, Dr Debasree Debnath, Assistant Professor of NLU, Oineetom Ojah, Associate Editor of NEL and UNICEF India representatives Purvi Malhotra, Communications Specialist and Laxminarayan Nanda, Child Protection Specialist.

The speakers emphasized that child marriage remains a critical concern in Tripura, with the state’s rate of 11.9% being significantly higher than the national average.

They stressed that child marriages end childhood and adversely impact education, health, and protection, ultimately perpetuating poverty across generations.

While discussing trends, the speakers pointed out that the prevalence of child marriages in India has declined from 47% (2005-06) to 27% (2015-16). However, they noted that the figure remains high and reflects deeply rooted gender inequality and social norms.

The participants acknowledged the underreporting of child marriages in Tripura, as many incidents go unrecorded due to a lack of centralized monitoring systems.

More than 36 journalists from the entire state were present there who agreed that the workshop served as an eye-opener and would help them improve their reporting skills to raise awareness and address the issue effectively.

The workshop underscored the media’s critical role as a tool to combat child marriage by addressing the socio-cultural and structural factors underpinning this practice.