Turning the Tide: Activist Bhuwan Ribhu Charts Course to End Child Marriage by 2030 at World Book Fair
India can end child marriage by 2030: Author & Child Rights activist Bhuwan Ribhu at World Book Fair
An enlightening dialogue on the eradication of child marriage in India unfolded at the World Book Fair, featuring Supreme Court Lawyer and author Bhuwan Ribhu, alongside social entrepreneur and TED speaker Tripti Shinghal Somani where the former talked about the strategies and roadmap to make India child marriage free by 2030. Notably, Bhuwan Ribhu’s book ‘When Children Have Children: Tipping Point to End Child Marriage’ has garnered nationwide acclaim since its launch last October and is one of its kind given the massive popularity it has gained as the strategies suggested in it to end child marriage have already been adopted by various state governments and NGOs across the country.
The book discussion was organised by Prabhat Prakashan, who have also published the book, and Piyush Kumar and Prabhat Kumar from the publication were also present in the hour-long conversation.
Even as the global perspective about eliminating child marriage has been quite disheartening with the UN Secretary-General even remarking that it could take 300 years to end this social evil, the book advocates an action plan to end child marriage by 2030. When asked if the target of 2030 is an overambitious one, the child rights activist strongly remarked, “I believe that India is self-sufficient and doesn’t need to look outside to seek directions and knowledge on the way forward. India is the land that gave the world the ideas of knowledge, spirituality, equality, and strength, and India ha how to fight her battles and how to ensure that she emerges victorious.”
To a hall packed with the audience at Author’s Corner at the Fair, Bhuwan Ribhu explained the PICKET strategy that he has prescribed in his book to eliminate child marriage by 2030. PICKET emphasises Policy, Investment, Convergence, Knowledge, Ecosystem, and Technology, as key pillars in the fight against child marriage. Notably, the book has gained traction, being adopted by over 160 NGOs and various government agencies nationwide since its launch in October 2023.
When asked why he decided to take up the pen as his weapon much later in his journey as a child rights activist and Supreme Court lawyer, the 40-something lawyer quipped, “Child marriage is child rape. And if we fail to protect our children, nothing else in life matters. The need to write this book emerged from the need to reach the public. The book’s purpose is to ignite a fire and reach the maximum number of people. A law will lay down and define what is right but unless it reaches the common man, it remains a mere piece of paper. So our challenge is to translate every macro-level policy to a micro-level deliverable on the ground for the last child. It was important to make child marriage a public issue and translate it into a book that could reach everyone.”
‘When Children Have Children’ suggests that it is possible to end child marriage by 2030 which presently stands at 23.3 percent.
