National Girl Child Day: HER day, HER way

Rajoshree Banik, a Class VIII student, is a Veerangana. The Bangla word translates into English as “brave girl”. The West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBPCR) has bestowed this title on Banik for acting decisively and thwarting an attempt to marry off a “child” in her native village in the district of South 24 Parganas.

 It’s more than just an award. It’s an acknowledgement for an initiative that requires guts and spirit. It is also a clarion call to other teenaged girls to follow suit by raising their voice against child marriage and fighting for their rights.

Over the past few years, the pronounced progressive discourse on girls’ education and empowerment in the state, government schemes like Kanyashree, and the cohesive and multipronged approach to tackle child marriage have yielded results. The most tangible of them is the increased awareness among young girls about the need to fight for their rights and life.

Rajoshree, and a group of spirited teenage girls from a village in Mograhat, are the “change” that is happening slowly but steadily in the nooks and corners of this state. They have been attending life-skill sessions conducted by a local non-profit in their village every week, for the past two years. At these sessions, they have learnt that early marriage is a bane that can ruin a girl’s life physically and psychologically. But parents, neighbours, and other families in the village don’t agree with them. The families seem to be in a rush to get their daughters married. Rajoshree and her friends have tried to explain to them, but mostly in vain. Often, the young girls have had to put up with taunts and mocks about their own wisdom, sense of responsibility and even behaviour.

The attitude of people has been disheartening. But Rajoshree has not been the one to give up. A few months ago, she learnt that a 15-year-old in her neighbourhood was being married off. This time, instead of talking to the parents, the Class VIII girl directly contacted WBCPCR on WhatsApp (the contact shared with her by the local non-profit). She alerted them about the “child marriage” that was about to happen. Authorities intervened and took care of the rest.

For this bravado and presence of mind, Rajoshree received acclaim and applauds, including the Veerangana award from WBCPCR. She is happy that she could play a part in “stopping” a child marriage. “In our community, we have grown up seeing girls being married off early. Parents don’t even think twice about it. But we have been taught in our sessions that child marriage can ruin a girl’s life in every way. I feel we must share this knowledge in the community,” she says.

Rajoshree, Shuhana, Rijia, and Mushadik, aged between 16 and 18, are members of a children’s group that has taken the lead in spreading awareness on this issue. They talk to parents, neighbours, and elders in the community. They trying to make them see the “dark” side of child marriage, with instances of local girls who have been married off early and never been heard of again. Rajoshree and her friends also speak to girls of their age, encouraging them to concentrate on studies and resist plans by their families to get them out of school. Rajoshree is glad that if not the parents just yet, many young girls are trying to think differently. “In our children’s group, many girls now want to pursue higher studies and get a job. They have said they will not allow their parents to marry them off before they are 18,” she says.

Rajoshree’s father Bapi, a casual labourer at a local zari-weaving unit, acknowledges the big lessons he has learnt from his daughter. “Parents like us have a lot of compulsions. There is pressure from extended family, fear of embarrassment and public shame as well as worries about safety. But my daughter has taught me to see things in a different light. Lack of awareness on this issue among the community is an issue that has to be addressed,” he said. 

Even as Rajoshree and her group raise a voice against this menace, government figures (National Family Health Survey–5) paint a stark picture for the state regarding child marriages. Around 41.1 per cent girls in the age group of 21-24 got married before they turned 18. A recent study by the journal Lancet finds West Bengal as one of the four states where the percentage of child marriage is quite high despite the national rate (and in other states) going down over the past few years.

The main reasons for high incidence of child marriage in some pockets of the state, especially in the border districts, are extreme poverty and gender stereotypes, says Vivekananda Sahoo, from Kaajla Janakalyan Samiti. The Samiti is a partner organisation of CRY that organises the life-skills sessions in the community. Parents are poor and struggle to make a livelihood in this area, ravaged regularly by cyclones and floods. They often have to take the difficult decision of migrating to other states for work. Before they do so, they marry off their daughter. It is more like a “burden” off their shoulders. They don’t think about what may befall their young girl after she gets married. Education, empowerment, and psychological well-being for girls are concepts that are still alien to many in the community.

The life-skills sessions have been a boon for Rajoshree and other girls, says Sahoo. In groups of 20, the girls learn and discuss about gender stereotypes, girls’ education and empowerment, the need to stop child marriage, child labour as well as trafficking, which often occurs under the garb of child marriage. They are also told about existing laws and regulations related to prevention of child marriage and the like, in addition to the mechanism in place for complaints and redressal. It is at these sessions that they have been given the contacts of WBCPCR, which came handy for Rajoshree when she heard of the plight of her neighbour.

Rajoshree deserves kudos for her presence of mind, sense of responsibility, and initiative. Social campaigns, community involvement, and stricter law enforcement are key to addressing the issue as well as bringing about lasting change at the grassroots level. But it is change-makers like Rajoshree who are beacons of hope. As we observe National Girl Child Day, we must groom girls like Rajoshree to raise their voices for education, and against child marriage.

Trina Chakrabarti is Regional Director (East), CRY – Child Rights and You

Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth