Independence Day Special: 7 Case Studies Of Child Marriage Survivors In India

Independence Day Special: As the nation celebrates its 78th Independence Day, we pay tributes to courageous girls who unshackled the bondage of child marriage in rural India where this social evil is acceptable as custom.

Their stories of struggle and resilience remind us of their unwavering determination to empower themselves and build a brighter future in 21st century India.

Case Study 1- Nawada, Bihar

Rooting it out from the grassroots: Collectively this women's group ensures to stop child marriages in Bihar

Minor girl used poster info to call for rescue

14-year-old Bindu Kumari (name changed) is yet to come to terms with the trauma she underwent after her parents tortured her for refusing to marry a man three times her age.

Her parents got ample amount to marry their daughter to a 45-year-old grocery shop owner in the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.

It was fixed through a relative in her native district of Nawada in Bihar which has a high percentage of child marriages. As per the National Health Family Survey-5, Nawada has a 43.3% prevalence of child marriages, much above the national average of 23.3 percent.

The only worry for Bindu was her future and health, as education meant empowerment. In contrast, health was wealth for this conscious student who was in the middle of Class 9 in the local school when her parents decided to undo what she dreamt of.

"She aimed to be a teacher, which was achievable considering her doing well in studies. She refused to marry a man decades older than her, but because of money being involved, her parents almost tortured her to death," said Manju Devi, who leads a dedicated women's group of social activists in eradicating child marriages in Nawada.

Manju is not alone in this cause but works with 32-year-old Rajni Kumari, Shweta Kumari, 28, and many other young women associated with Neha Grameen Mahila Vikas Samiti, a women-led NGO in Nawada and coalition partner of Child Marriage Free India (CMFI) campaign.

All of them joined forces to rescue Bindu from forced child marriage in Shobia Mandir at Paar Nawada recently.

This grassroots initiative led by women would have failed but for the timely support of Child Marriage Free India campaign. CMFI is a conglomerate of almost 200 NGO partners working across the country to end the evil practice of child marriage.

The campaign prevents child marriage at the community level through awareness and empowerment programs, and by directly stopping planned child marriages.

Neha Grameen Mahila Vikas Samiti as a coalition partner of CMFI specifically intervenes in Nawada district where an alarming 73% of girls get married below the age of 18.

According to Manju, her group has stopped 30 child marriages in June-July this year in Nawada but mainly at Shobia temple which is emerging as a hotspot as parents from villages like Mangura, Padokehrehri, Ghostama, Amini and Sitarampur bring in their minor girls for marriages.

Over the years, CMFIs' coalition partners have been working at the grassroots to prevent and stop child marriages of hundreds of girls like Bindu.

"Our NGO got a new lease of life after we joined the CMFI campaign. We were able to sustain and work towards result-oriented objectives. This partnership at the grassroots saved 100s of Bindus in Nawada," acknowledged Manju.

According to Convenor CMFI, Ravi Kant, the campaign led by women leaders has successfully prevented 14,137 child marriages in 2023-24 by using legal interventions and prevented 59,364 child marriages with the help of panchayats.

"Child marriage is a deep-rooted crime that is accepted in our society. Ending it completely requires a multi-pronged strategy and action involving all the stakeholders. Civil society organisations play a key role in supporting the government to eradicate social crimes like child marriage," said Ravi Kant, adding that CMFI's goal is to reduce child marriages by 2030.

Manju affirms that mobilising the community by forming small groups helps in information gathering, door-to-door campaigns, posters, awareness meetings and being with them at times of crisis play a positive role in intervention.

"Our awareness campaign and poster work intervention helped stop many child marriages as was Bindu's case. She had got our phone number from the poster and took the help of her friend in informing us that she was being forcibly taken to Shobia Mandir for marriage," says Manju.

Despite stiff resistance, Manju and her associates were able to stop Bindu's child marriage with the help of police who arrested the aged groom and Bindu's parents while the temple priest ran away from the spot. Bindu was taken to CWC Centre where Manju's group is keeping a close eye on the rescued girls.

"Bindu's case is testimony to the fact that how women-led movements at the grassroots could bring about change. The level of awareness in schools did help Bindu find clues about her would-be groom's age and past in UP," reveals Manju, who has been working in Nawada district since 2000 and claims to have successfully prevented about 300 marriages.

This women's group works on a participatory model as it formed a girls' club that is aware of the ills of child marriage and informs in case of child marriage in villages.

Manju acknowledges the challenges her group is facing in stopping child marriages but believes in the strength and support of the masses in rural areas.

"There are hassles which the perpetrators create to thwart our efforts during anti-child marriage measures. However, these challenges never deter us from carrying our social cause forward. We do it with dedication by feeling the pain of the victim as our own who is being exploited," insists Manju Devi.

Case Study 2 - Khordha, Odisha

Brave girl rewarded for reporting child marriage

Caught in a situation that she never comprehended at such a tender age that the parents of 15-year-old Ragini (name changed) planned discreetly to marry her off to an elderly person which she resented.

To counter Ragini's resistance, her parents in desperation conspired to mull that she was having an 'affair' with a village boy in Khordha district of Odisha.

Shocked Ragini, who was studying in 8th standard, decided to resent the move tooth and nail but had little support. To her advantage, the intervention sessions in her village by Ruchika Social Service Organization (RSSO), an NGO and coalition partner of Child Marriage Free India (CMFI) campaign, proved fruitful.

Ragini secretly met Ruchika members including Harapriya Pati, Ghanashyam Bhoi, and Tulasi Moharana, and disclosed plans of her parents. After confirming her age, RSSO, a coalition partner of CMFI campaign, put in place a mechanism to prevent child marriage by informing the police and other concerned organizations.
This incident attracted the attention of the district administration Khordha which felicitated Ragini for her bravery.

RSSO as a coalition partner of Child Marriage Free India or CMFI campaign intervenes in five districts of Odisha to address issues like child marriage, child sexual abuse, and child trafficking.

As a coalition partner of CMFI, RSSO is one of the 161 NGO partners of the CMFI working in high-prevalent districts throughout the country to free India from child marriages by 2030.

"Our coalition partners play a vital role in ending child marriage which is a deep-rooted crime that is accepted in our society. Eradicating it requires a multi-pronged strategy and action involving all the stakeholders," said Ravi Kant, Convenor of Child Marriage Free India.

Despite odds, RSSO as CMFI partner, was able to promptly intervene at Kuakhai river bank where Kuakhai Temple is located and an isolated spot for marriage.
"Her parents were desperately planning to solemnize Ragini's marriage and meticulously they had planned about it. Surprisingly, the police were initially reluctant but later supported our intervention," said Dr Benudhar Senapati, head of RSSO, which is coalition partner of CMFI at grassroots level.

The joint intervention saw the arrest of parents and groom besides few relatives who had gone all out to solemnize the marriage.

Ragini was produced before CWC Bhubaneswar and was restored at Open Shelter.

According to Dr Senapti, his NGO with help of CMFI has been able to stem the spike in child marriages in Puri and Khordha districts.

"A total number of 508 child marriage cases have been stopped by the Community Social Workers of our organization with active support of CMFI in Khordha, Puri and Nayagarh district of Odisha of which in nine cases legal cases have been filed in the police station," he claimed.

After a few days at Open Shelter, Rajini was restored to the family who were counseled and convinced that she should continue her study in the school.

Case Study 3: Giridih, Jharkhand

Rescuing Mansi from child marriage was an uphill task in Jharkhand village

Most of the girls who have been forced into child marriages in tribal areas of Giridih district in Jharkhand have poverty as the main factor for their parents to solemnize it and Mansi (name changed) was no different from the rest.

The 15-year-old lived in a shanty house in an impoverished hamlet of Giridih district where she left her schooling while her parents planned to get her married without being aware of the consequences.

As usual, her parents struggled financially to suggest that this was the case for them to get their girl married at ineligible age.

Banwasi Vikas Ashram (BVA), which is a coalition partner of Child Marriage Free India (CMFI) campaign, extensively intervenes in Giridih district and is known locally for the eradication of child marriages.

BVA, a NGO partner of CMFI, was informed about the scheduled child marriage of Mansi during its awareness programme in the village.

"The moment we found that child marriage is scheduled in village, we informed concerned authorities and police who acted promptly and rescued Mansi despite stiff resistance from family and local community members but our intervention worked and we were able to convince them and took pledge and undertaking," said a member of BVA.

At present Banwasi Vikas Ashram as CMFI local NGO partner, is working in 150 villages of Giridih district of Jharkhand. It specifically and successfully focused on crucial issues of child marriage, child trafficking, child labour and child sexual abuse.

BVA's intervention didn't end there but commenced with filling out the sponsorship scheme and Mansi was enrolled back in Class 10 in her school where she continued her education.

"We continue to support Mansi and monitor her schooling so that she can achieve her goal as an educated and empowered girl," said the member of BVA, which is also a coalition partner of the Child Marriage Free India Campaign or CMFI.

Child Marriage Free India Campaign is a coalition of 200 NGO partners working in high-prevalent districts throughout the country to free India from child marriages by 2030.

"Ending child marriage which is a deep-rooted crime that is accepted in our society requires a multi-pronged strategy and action involving all the stakeholders. Our coalition partners play a key role in supporting the government to eradicate social crimes like child marriage", said Ravi Kant, Convenor Child Marriage Free India.

Giridih district is in 4th position in Jharkhand and ranks 33rd among districts with a high prevalence of child marriages at all India level, as per NHFS-5.

Notably, National Family Health Survey-V (NFHS 2019-21) reported that nationally 23.3 per cent of women between the age group of 20-24 were married off before attaining the age of 18 while 32.2% of women in the same age group were married before the age of 18 in Jharkhand.

Case Study 4-Nadia, West Bengal

Aggrieved Nazima prayed for divine intervention to end her child marriage

Born and brought up in a conservative poor family in the rural West Bengal district of Nadia, Farah (name changed) got scared at the moment her age was discussed in family conversations.

As she turned 17, her father, a traditional farmer, set a deadline of six months to get Farah married to the son of his brother in the same district.

Being the youngest, she yielded to family pressure and the date was finalized for the Nikah ceremony.

Her desires, emotions, dreams, and future all looked bleak. Nadia as a brilliant student passed matriculation on the first attempt, a first in her village. She wanted to pursue higher education to become a psychologist for which she burnt midnight oil.

Her prayers were answered when Sreema Mahila Samity, an NGO and coalition partner of the Child Marriage Free India (CMFI) campaign conducted a village-level convergence meeting on child protection issues at Gram Panchayat and circulated Child Helpline Number 1098.

"We got information on the Child Helpline number that Nadia's family is planning her marriage. We informed police and officials who along with us convinced her father and he agreed by undertaking a pledge not to do so till she attains the age of 18," said Sabarna Saraswati, Program Coordinator, Sreema Mahila Samity.

The moment police and authorities took pledge statements from her father, Nadia jumped to pray in gratitude.

CMFI's coalition Partner, Sreema Mahila Samity, is now keeping track of her family and facilitated her education in Higher Secondary School.

According to Ravi Kant, Convenor CMFI, the conglomerate of almost 200 NGO partners is working across the country to end child marriage.

"CMFI works in tandem with its coalition partners with a blueprint for them to work towards reaching our goal which is Child Marriage Free India. We believe that mass awareness and legal deterrence is the panacea of this social evil," asserts Ravi Kant.

Explaining Sreema Mahila Samity's intervention scale, Sabarna affirmed that the support of CMFI helped his NGO to prevent 150 child marriages between 2023-24 and 130 from May 2024 to 14th August 2024.

Both CMFI and SMS give credit to working to end child marriage in Nadia district to the collaborative efforts with child protection stakeholders like, District Social Welfare Office, Child Welfare Committee, District Child Protection Unit, Block Development Office, Panchayats, Border Security Force, ASHA, School, Anganwadi, and CBO.

Case Study 5- Giridih, Jharkhand

Mother of Choti realized her folly, now helps in preventing child marriage in Jharkhand's Giridih

In most cases of child marriages, parents play the main role of facilitating it but in one such rare case in the Giridih district of Jharkhand mother of a girl came forward and helped in her rescue.

During an awareness session conducted by Banwasi Vikas Ashram (BVA), an NGO partner of Child Marriage Free India (CMFI) campaign, a mother of a minor girl informed its members about the proposed child marriage of her 17-year-old daughter, Choti, with a man double her age.

On obtaining this information from the mother, BVA as a coalition partner of CMFI, got it cross-checked and informed the local authorities and police who in coordination rescued the girl.

Banwasi Vikas Ashram or BVA, which is supported by CMFI, is actively stopping child marriages in Giridih district with the help of police and authorities.

"What worked in her case is the role of police who intervened timely with us. Before this, her mother played a positive role in informing us which is rare in villages," said a member of BVA.

After her rescue, BVA as NGO partner of CMFI ensured rehabilitation by enrolling her in class 10.

BVA is a partner of the Child Marriage Free India campaign or CMFI, which is a coalition of more than 200 NGO partners working in high-prevalent districts throughout the country to free India from child marriages by 2030.

Choti's mother has become part of BVA as she assists the NGO at the grassroots in the prevention of child marriage in the district by informing it about child marriages in highly prevalent villages of Giridih.

"CMFI and its coalition partners throughout the country work with government agencies to prevent and stop child marriages which is a deep-rooted crime accepted in our society," said Ravi Kant, Convenor Child Marriage Free India.

Giridih district is in 4th position in Jharkhand and ranks 33rd among districts with a high prevalence of child marriages at all India level, as per NHFS-5.

Pertinently, National Family Health Survey-V (NFHS 2019-21) reported that nationally 23.3 per cent of women between the age group of 20-24 were married off before attaining the age of 18 while 32.2 per cent of women in the same age group were married before the age of 18 in Jharkhand.

Case Study 6 - Giridih, Jharkhand

Sunita resisted marrying elderly groom in Jharkhand's Giridih area

For 12-year-old Sunita (name changed), the thought of proposed marriage by her parents came as a shocker as she was interested in further studies with her results proving the point in her Class 7 of school in Giridih district of Jharkhand.

Again parents citing poverty as a classic reason for child marriage were ready to get Sunita married to a person whose age was more than her mother.

This proposal was a shocker for Sunita who was expecting that her parents knowing her capabilities would opt for her schooling rather than marrying her off at such an age last year.

Since NGO Banwasi Vikas Ashram (BVA) as a coalition partner of Child Marriage Free India (CMFI) campaign, intervenes in Jharkhand to prevent child marriages, it got to know about Sunita's marriage during an awareness programme.

Promptly BVA's Community Social Workers informed all the concerned officials and police who were able to prevent child marriage of Sunita.

Child Marriage Free India campaign or CMFI, which supports BVA in grassroots intervention, is a coalition of more than 200 NGO partners working in high-prevalent districts throughout the country to free India from child marriages by 2030.

"Our target is in sync with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals which is to eradicate child marriage by 2030. Ending it completely requires a multi-pronged strategy and action involving all the stakeholders," said Ravi Kant, Convenor Child Marriage Free India.

Banwasi Vikas Ashram is working in 150 villages of Giridih district with interventions focused on crucial issues of child marriage, child trafficking, child labour and child Sexual Abuse.

According to BVA, their members had to face stiff resistance during the rescue operation but were able to save Sunita with help of police and local officials, who took pledge and undertaking from parents not to repeat the act and refrain from marrying Sunita before age of 18.

In its post rehabilitation programme, Sunita was again enrolled in class 7 at middle school where she continues to outsmart others in subjects.

She also got sponsorship benefits as BVA members assisted Sunita in every step of her success.

Giridih district is in 4th position in Jharkhand and ranks 33rd among districts with a high prevalence of child marriages at all India level, as per NHFS-5.

Notably, National Family Health Survey-V (NFHS 2019-21) reported that nationally 23.3 per cent of women between the age group of 20-24 were married off before attaining the age of 18 while 32.2 per cent of women in the same age group were married before the age of 18 in Jharkhand.

Case Study 7 - Giridih, Jharkhand

Vulnerable tribal girl forced into child marriage, rescued in Jharkhand

She was doing well in 8th standard and had a dream to become a teacher in her tribal village.

16-year-old Manjuri (name changed) apart from academics was also doing well in sports as an athlete in middle-distance running in Giridih district of Jharkhand.

Life took a turn when her parents decided to marry her off. Manjuri and her parents were aware of the ill-effects of child marriage but decided to go against the law citing poverty to force their daughter into wedlock which she was not prepared for.

As a non-governmental organization that intervenes in tribal areas of Giridih district, Banwasi Vikas Ashram (BVA) members were able to gather information about Manjuri's marriage schedule during the awareness programme.

After verifying her age, BVA informed authorities in Giridih where teams were formed to prevent Manjuri's marriage with an elderly person.

"It was a very difficult to convince Manjuri's parents who were offered a handsome amount by the groom for marriage. Our strategy worked after hectic deliberations they shelved the proposal," affirm BVA members.

BVA, which is one of the coalition partners of Child Marriage Free India's (CMFI) campaign, brought an end to her difficult circumstances.

"We provide overall support to our coalition partners to end child marriage which is a deep-rooted crime that is accepted in our society. Eradicating it requires a multi-pronged strategy and action involving all the stakeholders," said Ravi Kant, Convenor of Child Marriage Free India.

The agreement to do so was not only made verbally but Manjuri's parents signed a form wherein they pledged before the Panchayat Secretary and community social workers not to marry her before the age of 18 years.

BVA is working in 150 villages in the Giridih district of Jharkhand with interventions focused on child marriage, child labour, child trafficking, and child sexual abuse.

Giridih district is in 4th position in Jharkhand and ranks 33rd among districts with a high prevalence of child marriages at all India level, as per NHFS-5.

Jharkhand paints a grim picture regarding child marriages as depicted by the NFHS-5 survey at 32.3% of women aged 20-24 were married before the age of 18 years.