NEW DELHI: Jhumki’s (name changed) red and white sakha-pola (wedding bangles) and sindoor jar sharply with her starched uniform. She was forced by her father to marry when she was barely 11 but she feels lucky to be allowed to attend school.
Forty-six per cent of women (between the ages of 18 and 29) in India were married before the age of 18, according to the National Family Health Survey-3. It is estimated that there are 23 million child brides in the country, around 40% of child brides globally. Global human rights NGO Breakthrough, working in districts of Hazaribagh and Gaya (in Bihar) and Ranchi in Jharkhand found that over 60% of women between the ages of 20-24 were married before 18.
Breakthrough, which launched its ‘Nation Against Early Marriage’ campaign in Ranchi recently, has so far reached 35,000 women and expects to expand the campaign nationwide and target 100,000 women in the coming months. The NGO — which had spearheaded the successful ‘bell bajao’ campaign against domestic violence — hopes to change the culture that drives and perpetuates early marriage to replace it with one where the lives, rights and personhood of girls is valued. Worldwide, 60 million girls become child brides every year, of which around 30 million belong to South Asia alone.
‘140 million child brides by 2020 likely’
According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), if the trends continue between 2011 and 2020, more than 140 million girls will become child brides, of which at least 18.5 million will be under the age of 15.
Breakthrough vice-president Sonali Khan said, “This issue came up when we were working with communities in Bihar and Jharkhand. Under-age girls are incapable of negotiating domestic violence, are deprived of early health and reproductive rights. This later has implications on child and maternal mortality.”
According to the NGO’s data, the trend is worse in rural areas. In Jharkhand, 71% of girls in rural areas were married before 18 years compared to 33% in urban areas. In Bihar, 65.2% of girls were married before 18 years compared to 37% in urban areas.
Breakthrough is working with communities where the average age of marriage ranges between 15.1 and 16.4 and cohabitation also happens before the girl is 17. “Our on-?eld trainings that began in April 2013 have witnessed an average participation of 200 middle and high school level students per session. We have targeted fathers or male members of the family who usually make the decision for the young girl. But it is a slow process,” Khan said.
The NGO uses mobile vans, panchayats and folk theatre as medium to create communication tools.
If it would have been a muslim country, then people like TheBombMan, The Eddied … and other indian lovers might have said so many bad things to muslims.
my thoughts exactly. no doubt we would have seen them calling rasulullah (Saws) a pedophile (astighfirullah). and calling islam “backwards” and “oppressive.”
u can expect this to never get massive international attention it deserves, as it would have if it was a muslim country.
I don’t need to call your Rasgullah anything 321…. You know the facts as well as I do. So, how old was Ayesha again? Hmmmm……
The age of Hazrat Ayesha RA was 18-19 years old, I’m sure that you will not gonna believe this, even you know the fact. Everyone here know why are you here. Keep your assumptions to yourself, we don’t need it, and for your reference here is the link from where you can authenticate, but again its not going to help you for obvious reason.
http://beta.dawn.com/news/696084/of-aishas-age-at-marriage
Who are you REALLY kidding? For the last 1300 years, ALL muslim textbooks have quoted between 6 and 10. Now, all of a sudden, you decide it is 18 – 19. Yeah right.
Whatever. Your religion teaches you to lie if required, so guess what – you tell me 60, I’ll giggle laugh and call you an idiot.
http://www.muslim.org/islam/aisha-age.htm
funny…u just indirectly said the same thing i said u would say. thanks for proving my point. u’re not too bright are u?
How many maidens did Krishna rape? Maharami mental midget you cannot have a discussion without insulting Islam and Pakistan. Cow cola afficianados are still living in stone age and praying to snakes, rats and Lingam(penis).
Muslims have their practices, Hindus have their own. To each his own. Something you find wierd, will be very normal to a person of another religion and vice versa.
India has the highest rate of poverty, insurgency, rape, disease and prostitution! We don’t need any article or journalist to tell us these FACTS!
In India people worship rats and marry dogs! They also have a massive lack of toilets! They are a cancer on the earth, a joke in every sense that the world openly laughs at. Bharat is the hungriest nation on the face of the planet making sub Saharan Africa look wealthy. We all know that they also drink their own urine!
Well well well….. funny that you guys mention this. Just remind me how old the prophet’s wife was?
I agree – this is a horrendous practice – but this is a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black. Before looking at India, you might want to look at Pakistan, Yemen and yeah, even Saudi Arabia
Absolutely! you pig heads have often been calling the kettle black. Articles like these are revealing some of the home truths to you pillocks back in india.
P.s Sayyidnah Ayesha’s at the time of her Nikah was 9 but when she entered the Prophet’s P.B.U.H home she was a woman that is the fact the you ignoramuses don’t want to accept!
There is no kettle or pot, just you genocidal bastards and your hate filled rapistan.