Parul Verma, 16, of Shravasti district, who warded off marriage before she reached the legal age, is now leading the way in the crusade against child marriages in her village.

She is encouraging other girls of her age in Bargadwa village to offer resistance to child marriage, making them aware of their rights and emphasising on literacy.

According to Parul, boys and men have to be included in this effort. “The crusade against child marriage can become more effective with increased literacy,” said Parul.

Five districts of Uttar Pradesh are among the top 50 in terms of child marriage prevalence in the country. And Shravasti tops the list in India, as per data from National the Family Health Survey (NFHS-4).

In 20 districts of UP, child marriage prevalence is higher than the national average.

Parul’s mother passed away when she was just two. After that, her father and grandmother brought her up. Last year, when Parul was busy finishing her homework one day, she overheard her father and grandmother discussing her marriage. The family’s plan for Parul’s early marriage left her in tears, but she remained silent that night.

The next morning, she woke up early and went to the terrace where her father, Kailash Nath Verma, a farmer, was watering the plants. Parul broke down. She told him she is against child marriage and wanted to study further. Parul had seen consequences of early marriage of her cousin who was married much before she turned 18. Parul was lucky, as she convinced her father to let her study.

Parul’s father and Malti, a volunteer of village Internet Sathi programme (initiated by Google) together were able to convince Parul’s grandmother against early marriage.

This opened a door of opportunity for Parul to continue her education. She wants to become a doctor because the pain of losing her mother at an early age for want of treatment made her determination stronger that education is the key to changing family fortunes.

District magistrate of Shravasti, Deepak Meena, said, “About 3-4 years ago, child marriage was rampant in the district. With 39% female literacy, efforts were made to minimise child marriages here. Last year, the district administration, with the help of NGOs, prevented 53 scheduled child marriages. We took other measures like asking families to print the age of bride and bridegroom on the wedding invitation cards.”

India carries the burden of the largest number of child brides in the world - one third of the global total. Every year, at least 1.5 million girls get married in India, according to a Unicef report. It further says child marriage affects immunisation because girls need to focus more on household activities.

“The consequences of child marriage have a dramatic impact on girls in comparison to boys. Not only does it increase the incidence of teenage pregnancies, putting young mothers’ and their child’s lives at risk, but also limits development opportunities in life, increases the risks of violence and abuse, limits opportunities for informed choices and fulfilling aspirations. This is a violation of children’s right to education, protection and development,” said Malti who encouraged Parul to support other girls of her age to offer resistance to child marriage.

In the past 10 years, child marriage has decreased sharply, from 47% to 27%, in the country. This may be the result of multiple factors such as increased literacy of mothers, girls’ better access to education, strong legislation and migration from rural areas to urban centres.

However, the progress has been unequal across states and at least 8 million girls are at risk of getting married in the next five years, half of these girls are at risk of becoming pregnant within a year after they get married, reads Unicef report.

“Through the Unicef supported Smart Betiyan initiative, short films on the real stories of girls who have opposed their own marriages and have negotiated with their parents to continue their education have been made by girls using smart phones. It is important that these stories are captured and amplified in the community to catalyze social change,” said Geetali Trivedi, communication specialist, Unicef.

“Preventing child marriage is an effective entry point to address broader issues such as adolescents’ aspirations and opportunities in life,” said Aftab Mohammad, child protection specialist, Unicef.

First Published: Feb 01, 2019 13:22 IST