In the recently released World Population Status Report -2020 by the United Nations, the prevalence of childbearing worldwide is currently 21 percent. This report states that 1 out of every 5 girls in the world is married before the age of 18. This report is also very special for India. It states that one out of every four girls in India is married before the age of 18. The report says this based on the 2015-16 data of the National Family Health Survey in India. This report has also praised those Indian women who could muster the courage to raise their voice against this evil practice and choose the way to live their own life by becoming self-sufficient on the basis of education.
The report also mentions Soni living in Beed district in the state of Maharashtra, whose parents used to live outside the village for work. Soni told her story that her uncle married her to a 28-year-old man when she was just 15 years old. Soni said that she was very angry and she can no longer take responsibility for me. In the news published by the UN, it is said that when the drought hits, many workers migrate to other districts for livelihood. In these places, wages are paid only in pairs, meaning both the husband and wife are kept together at work. This is the reason that it falls on the children left behind. Most of these too are adolescent girls. This is the reason that their families feel that if they get married then they will be more secure.
In view of this, this step is often taken under compulsion. But Sony’s story was somewhat different. She was married for her physical and financial security but this did not happen. She told that only a few months after the marriage, her husband and in-laws started assaulting her. He accused Soni that he was inhabited by evil spirits, as I had the courage to speak my mind. For this, he took him to the tantric also. He also attacked her in the name of exorcism. In this, Soni did not get support from her family either. He said that now the husband’s house is his house and he will have to stay there
Sony put the above things on top of everyone in the International Girl Child Day Program in 2018. After this Sony got help from Dalit Mahila Vikas Mandal Sanstha. This institution teaches the necessary skills to adolescent girls. Here Soni took training to become a nurse and also associated 12 other girls from the village with her. Currently, Soni is completely independent and self-sufficient woman and is employed as a hospital nurse in Pune city. Now, in spare time, Sony helps raise awareness by taking part in plays that discriminate against girls.
According to Soni, he had a lot of anger about what happened to him. But now she not only stands on her feet but also sends money to her parents. She now feels secure about her future. A similar story is also about Pooja Yadav and Leela of Ramgarh village in Madhya Pradesh. Both of them belong to the tribal community here. She talks to people and encourages them to keep girls in school and complete their education. She encourages the families of the girls not to marry them soon. He told that the family of 15-year-old Ramkali was trying to get him married.
Ramkali says that she was not ready for this and wanted to become a capable human being by reading and writing. But she got upset when the marriage was finalized. Upon learning this, Pooja and Leela tried to convince her parents, but they did not agree. Finally, both of them cited the law, after which they agreed to not marry Ramkali but rightly afraid. She is not only named in UN news but Ambika, a resident of Jadipada village in Odisha, now works in a mill in Tamil Nadu. Apart from this, 15-year-old Radhamani Majhi of Koraput district has the same story.
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