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Child marriages continue to rise in Madhya Pradesh; 538 cases reported in 2025

Marriages of girls aged below 18 years continue to rise in Madhya Pradesh, despite the governments claims of taking focused measures, particularly through public awareness campaigns to curb the practice. Statistics tabled by Mohan Yadav government in the Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday, the second day of the assemblys ongoing winter session, revealed a 47% jump in child marriages in 2025 compared to 2020. As many as 538 child marriages have been reported across the state so far this year, up from 366 cases in 2020. The number of child marriages has been steadily increasing over the years: 366 cases were reported in 2020, rising by 19% to 436 in 2021, followed by 519 in 2022, 528 in 2023, and 529 in 2024. These figures were presented in response to a question raised by former minister and three-time Congress MLA Jaivardhan Singh. While districts in Bundelkhand, central Madhya Pradesh, the GwaliorChambal region, and some tribal-dominated areas reported the highest number of cases, Damoh district in Bundelkhand has emerged as the biggest hotspot, recording 115 child marriages in 2025. This accounts for 21% of all cases reported in the state this year. The district had earlier reported 69 such marriages in 2021, 64 in 2022, 39 in 2023, and 33 in 2024. Other districts reporting a significant number of child marriages this year include Rajgarh (44), Chhatarpur (35), Guna (28), Sagar (24), Dewas (24), and Narsinghpur (23). The 115 cases reported in Damoh this year mark the first instance in five years of any district crossing the three-digit mark. Before this, the highest figure was 87 cases reported in Rajgarh in 2023. Damoh had also recorded the highest number of such cases in 2021 and 2022. Sagar district, also part of Bundelkhand, continues to report a substantial number of underage marriages: 48 in 2020, 33 in 2021, 27 in 2022, 36 in 2023, and 34 in 2024. Although the figures were shared by the Women and Child Development (WCD) Department in the Vidhan Sabha, the states WCD Minister Nirmala Bhuria told journalists that she had no such information. No such question was raised in the Vidhan Sabha. I dont have any such information. Ill find out from where the opposition obtained these figures, she said, despite the data being part of the House proceedings. Bhurias home district, the Bhil-dominated Jhabua, reported 68 child marriages in the last five years, while neighbouring Alirajpur, dominated by the Bhilala tribe, reported just seven cases since 2020. Reacting to the data, Congress MLA Jaivardhan Singh slammed the government. In response to my question, the government claimed on Tuesday that public awareness on the issue is growing. But the continuously rising figures shared by the department itself paint a picture contrary to the governments claims, he said.

2 Dec 2025 8:52 pm