IEC Material:

The pamphlet issued by Village Federation of the Self Help Groups, village: Chitlamkunta,

block/mandal: Amrabad, district: Mahabubnagar, AP.

Let us oppose marriages for children!

Let us build confidence in the girl child!!

For the last few years we have waged battles against child labour saying that the right place for children is school. We involved everyone in the society in this task. Every one of us strongly believed this principle and negotiated with school teachers, employers and other sections and created a congenial environment for every child to join schools and study. Particularly, the determination of girl children to defy the shackles of the traditions and join education inspired many. Now, the school going girls are facing different kind of problems. Certain people pass obscene comments; writes awful things and gossip about them etc. are few of the problems they are facing now. In this back ground many of us think that marriage could be the best solution for this problem and mistakenly concluding that marriage assuming that it will provide them much required security. It is really worrying that many of us instead of providing better security are imposing a tradition in the form of early marriage as the only alternative. By getting married in the early age, girl children would be deprived of their childhood, their growth comes to a standstill, leaving behind the joy of childhood she is thrown into a vicious circle called married life. She is married off before understanding her own self and gaining mental strength and physical fitness for marriage related responsibility. Marriage entangles children who are otherwise to be playful and cheer up the people around them! There are thousands of young girls in the villages who are waging lone battles. It is the responsibility of elected representatives and officials to support the girls in their struggles. How many of us know that the first born to such young married girls will not survive even for a year? How many of us know the mental stress and agony such young brides are undergoing? How many of us know that many such girls are committing suicide? Should our young girls be subjected to such terrific experiences? Do we tolerate if our young sisters undergo this kind of tortures? How long our young girls should undergo all these sufferings? Who will address this problem? What efforts did we make to solve this problem? This is the high time that we should think about these issues. Let us declare to the whole world that we will not tolerate any more such injustice happening to our girl children.

Political Leaders, Elected Representatives, Officers and Youth please listen… Parents who intend to get their young girls married would seek the support of political leaders and the elected representatives. Your ultimate goal must be to protect the child rights. You should not succumb to any kinds of pressures in such cases. This is the time, we should think of building the confidence of girl children. If we are committed for the development of girls as individuals and to respect them, do not entertain, support the proposals of marriages for young girls and contribute to evolve a social norm. We must start opposing marriages for young girls, right from our home, our village and our society.

Elected representatives and political leaders should stand for protecting child rights

when there is a pressure on them to perform child marriage

All the officers must initiate measures to stop child marriages

Purohiths/ priests should declare that they will not be a party in the child marriages

Parents and the village leaders should resolve not to perform marriages for young

girls

All young men should take a pledge that they will not marry young girls

Village Sarpanches should take up activities opposing child marriages

All villagers must pledge to respect the dignity and rights of the girl child in the

school and outside the school

All the members of the Self Help Groups should resolve not to perform marriage for

their young girls and strive to implement the same

Federation of Village Self Help Groups (GramaAikyaSangham) Chitlamkunta (Amrabad Mandal), Mahaboobnagar District

M. V. Foundation

Child Rights Protection Forum