Almost in every minute, 23 numbers of girls under the age of 18 are getting married somewhere in the world. About 12 million of underage girls are forced to arranged marriage each year. These marriages are common in parts of Africa, the middle east and South Asia. But no country has more child brides than India. More than 20 percent of Indian girls get married before they are 18. Most are married before they reach their puberty.
India has laws that make it illegal the marriage of a girl under the age of 18. But the laws are being widely ignored in poor rural villages. In some impoverished regions of India, more than 65 percent of girls are the victims of child marriage as they are often considered economic burden of their families.
“More than half of girls from the poorest families in the developing world are married as children.” Says Shipra Jha of ‘Girls Not Brides’, a global partnership committed to ending child marriage. “Where poverty is acute, families and sometimes girls themselves believe that marriage will be a solution to secure their future”.
This was not the life that Payal Jangid wanted for herself. Payal lives in a poor village named Hinsla of Rajasthan in northern India. When she was a young girl her parents arranged her marriage. But Payal refused . She begged her father to let her continue her education and he eventually agreed.
In 2013, Payal was elected leader of village’s Child Parliament. After becoming involved in child Parliament, Payal attended youth forums and organized rallies and protests. She worked tirelessly to end child marriages, promote education and encourage children to advocate for themselves. Not a single child marriage has taken place in her village since she began her crusade.
‘Kids are no longer afraid to be vocal’ she says. ‘They are aware of their rights.’
At the age of 14, she was selected as a jury member for the 2014 World’s Children Prize. She traveled to Sweden to participate in the event. Payal, now 18 years old, is studying to become a teacher. She dreams of a world in which girls can receive educations, have carriers, and make their own decisions regarding marriage.
Do you know :
- Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan was selected as the winner of the World’s Children Prize in 2014 when Payal Jangid was a jury member.
- Indian parents can be sentenced to two years in jail for allowing underage marriages to take place. Most parents lie about the ages of their children who are being married.
- Most child brides do not meet their husbands until the day of their marriage.
- Most child brides have mothers who were also child brides.
- More than 650 million women in the world were child brides.