Ahmed asked people neither to perform nor conduct nor attend child marriages as it was a gross violation of rights of child with respect to education, health, nutrition and protection from violence and abuse.
Speaking at the programme on prohibition of child marriage, jointly organised by the Department of Social Welfare, Women and Child Development and the UNICEF, he requested people to inform the police and government officials about any such incident in rural areas.
Quoting the Annual Health Survey (2010/11), Job Zachariah, the Chief of UNICEF, Jharkhand, said, Jharkhand has the highest rate of child marriage in the country after Rajasthan and Bihar.
"More than 52% of the girls are married before 18 years in the state. A social practice like child marriage, rooted in the society for centuries, can be stopped only by concentrated action at social, political, legal and economic levels," a UNICEF release said quoting him.
