A few months ago, life was not as good for 15-year-old Leela Kumari as it is today. ¡°A sudden set of events in the form of my marriage plans had threatened to completely derail my dreams and push my life towards an era of complete darkness,¡± she says, while putting her books in bag to go to her village school early morning. She now wants to become a teacher and is now leading a campaign against the menace that has some social acceptability in this part of country.??
Leela with the help of some child activists belonging to Kailash Satyarthi Children¡¯s Foundation (KSCF), was able to successfully avert her marriage in a Giridih village in Jharkhand some months ago. The activists, who helped Leela, also included a 12-year-old girl Anjli Kumari and 13-year-old Nikki Kumari, who have been associated with a child rights organisation. In this story, Leela has shared her ordeal of struggle, contest and conflict she had with her family and the society.
The Class VII girl from Panderiya village, 30 kms from here, had suddenly stopped coming to school. She had got a shock of her life, when nearly a week ahead, she was told about her marriage with Deepak Kumar, an 18-year-old boy from a nearby village Kunjalpur.
¡°It was shocking. I did not know what to do. I tried to protest in front of my parents and other relatives. No one was willing to listen to me. My father and mother were begging me to marry that boy, saying that with great difficulty they had arranged this match for her. I was being convinced that the boy was a very good person,¡± Leela says. An early marriage would have pushed her into an early motherhood.?
Her parents tried their best to convince her despite her opposition, without understanding the implications, the marriage will have on her life and health. ¡°They told me that you will rule as queen at your in-laws house. What will you gain after studying, at the end you would be cleaning utensils and making food only? I was also being convinced that lucky girls get such bridegrooms,¡± she says.?
Both, Nikki Kumari, a former Bal Panchayat Mukhiya and Anjli Kumari, another panchayat member associated with Kailash Satyarthi Children¡¯s Foundation (KSCF) had intervened in the marriage plan and reached out to families of both of them. Panderiya village is a BMG (Bal Mitr Gram) or a child friendly village, which hosts a Bal Panchayat managed by KSCF, an organisation founded by Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi.?
Anjli says, ¡°The family did not initially understand on how they were unknowingly killing the dreams and life of her daughter by pushing her into a married life in her adolescent for which she was not prepared. But, we were successful in the end. We were able to convince both the families to annul the marriage for now. I spoke to Leela¡¯s father and asked him to cancel the marriage.¡± Both the families had gone ahead with the marriage plans and fixed the date at April 26, despite knowing it was illegal, as the phenomenon had wider acceptance of the society, activist says, adding that it becomes a huge challenge for the family to get a girl married after she crosses 18 years of age.?
The volunteers also reached out to Deepak Kumar, the boy who was supposed to get married with Leela. Amit Kumar, a social worker associated with KSCF says that they tried to reach out to all the prominent people and in the society. His parents were also convinced that this marriage will not only put them on the wrong side of the law, but also hit the life and health of the girl very hard.
¡°With lots of efforts and sensitisation involving all the stakeholders of the society, this marriage was averted, and now Leela Kumari has herself become a child activist, spreading awareness about ill impacts of child marriage,¡± says Amit.
The members of KSCF knocked the doors of the Gram Panchayat, Sarpanch and Village Mukhiya also. Mukhiya Pratinidhi Vijay Yadav was first convinced to intervene. He and other prominent villagers helped by convincing both the families that the marriage would not only have negative implications on the life and health of the adolescent girl but also is an illegal act under the laws of the country.
"We told the families that, marriage of a boy less than 21 years of age and a girl below 18 years of age is a crime under The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. This also attracts two years of rigorous imprisonment or rupees one lakh fine or both," Amit says about the efforts that the activists took. As a result of these efforts, the marriage was not only averted but Leela has been back to her school and pursuing her education. The efforts brought the entire community on one platform to challenge the social evil of child marriage.?
The Bal Panchayat has been making many social interventions and their efforts have led to completion of many development works at Panderiya village. Due to efforts of panchayat children, recently iron staircases were constructed inside the village school by the district authorities.??