Jago Foundation, in coalition with the UNICEF, has planned to bring down the number of adolescent marriages in three blocks — Giridih, Jamua and Bengabad — consisting 65 villages.
Their main support system is to train the girls in martial arts to boost up their confidence. Safety and security concern is considered as one of the main reasons for underage marriages of the girls. “Hum logon ko Martial arts seekh ke bahut aatmavishwaas mil raha hai. Jo log school nahi aati vo ghar ke kaam mein lagi rehti hai (We are getting a lot of confidence by learning karate. Those girls who don’t come to school stay at home for household work),” said Salma, student of Upgraded Middle School, Algunda.
The girls are being trained in karate besides learning about various moves and skills for one on one battle. Defensive art with help of knife is also a part of their training. Their trainer is a black belt holder. The course would last for about four months. After that about 4-5 students from the village, who have learnt the skills perfectly, will be further trained for state and national level competitions. Some girls would also be sent to nearby areas to coach more teenagers. As per Jago foundation’s report, 510 girls are being coached in nine out of 10 village councils of Jharkhand.
According to Annual Health Survey (2012-13), 45.2 per cent girls in the state were married before the age of 18. In 2013 Deoghar and Giridih were among the top 10 out of 650 district in India with 63.5 per cent and 62.8 per cent juvenile marriage respectively. Due to lack of a school or college after class 10th in the village, most of the girls are married after completing matriculation. “The nearest college is 20 km away in Giridih. Transport facility is a major drawback. As the level of education of a girl gets higher, a better groom needs to be found. And therefore a higher amount of dowry has to be gifted,” described Hameed Miya, a resident of Algunda. A lot of the parents were of the opinion that to save them from such a high amount of dowry, early marriage of their girl is the most profitable solution.
A meeting of social workers, CWC members, village heads, doctors and DCPO was held after surveying the village. Renu, Chairman of CWC described, “Marriage at the initial phase of discussions can be stopped. But at the time of ceremony it’s almost impossible to halt the adolescent from getting married. Only 3 child marriage cases were registered in Giridih last year. BDO does not support us in stopping such illegal activities. lack of transport is also a restriction in spreading awareness. Funds are also not being adequately provided since March.” The project commenced in May this year.