KORAPUT: It was in December last year when a 16-year-old girl of Badnaikguda, a quaint village in Koraput’s Kerenga gram panchayat (GP), eloped with a minor boy of a neighbouring hamlet. This practice of eloping (colloquially called Udulia) is prevalent among tribal communities. In cases like these, when the minor couple returns or are brought back home, their families, in a bid to save face, get their relationship ritually sanctioned in presence of the community, despite them not having attained the legal age of marriage.
In her case, however, it was a local adolescent group ‘Darpan Sishu Ghara’ that traced and brought her back. The group has over 30 members aged 13-18 years, from various villages under the Kerenga GP who have been standing guard against child marriage. Along with the local anganwadi worker, ward member and youth volunteers, the group counselled the girl and her parents about the risks and legal consequences of child marriage. A written declaration was taken from them stating they won’t get her married before the legal age of 18.
The adolescent group has in the last one year prevented around nine child marriages in villages under Kerenga panchayat. To trace such cases, these teenagers make hand-drawn maps of the villages, called a child tracking tool, to monitor the status of young girls in the households. Lakshmi Khillo (16), the group’s president explained they use different colours for specific purposes. “For instance, red indicates homes where girls are at immediate risk of marriage, blue for those who have dropped out of school, yellow for child labour and green for families struggling with poverty and migration, etc.,” she said.
The timely intervention and counselling of the group helped the Badnaikguda girl get a new lease of life. She is currently pursuing Plus II first year at a college in Koraput, and aspires to become a teacher.
The group was formed in 2020 by South Orissa Voluntary Action (SOVA), a local non-profit organisation, under the Access to Justice programme of Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation. The organisation facilitates training-cum-monitoring programmes to sensitise village youngsters on issues like school dropout, child marriage, abuse and trafficking etc.
The group, at present, actively monitors households in Badnaikguda and 2-3 other neighbouring villages. They meet once a week to review the status of the households and prepare fresh maps accordingly.
Ramprasad Pattnaik, programme manager, SOVA, said when the teens come to know about a possible child marriage, they counsel the parents. In cases where parents do not abide, the issue is taken to the village-level child protection committee. “The committee members then enlighten them of the legal repercussions of child marriage. For extremely sensitive cases, we move the district child protection unit, childline and the child welfare committee to solve the issue,” he added.
The group members also use storytelling as a way of raising awareness on child marriage and other issues. “We hold puppetry shows every four months to spread awareness messages on social issues in a fun and engaging way,” said Sabita Muduli (14), a member of Darpan Sishu Ghara.
Every three months, the group conducts federation meetings across the panchayat where representatives from different villages share the status of their respective areas. Such meetings are also attended by the sarpanches, anganwadi workers, ward members etc., and sensitive cases like childhood pregnancy, elopement, abduction etc., are discussed and steps forward planned. The group has in the last one year helped reintegrate 13 school dropouts into formal education.
