Nagada: Nagada village in Jajpur district, which had hit the headlines two years ago for malnourishment deaths of children, has now decided to shun the age-old practice of child marriage which is otherwise rampant in the hinterland.
The villagers, most of who are illiterate, with the assistance of other community level workers have written to the state Women and Child Welfare Department to assist them in creating awareness in the village about the legal provisions of child marriage and work with the community to abolish the unhealthy practice.
“The villagers have written to the department seeking assistance to create awareness on the issue and want to work with the department to end the menace. In the last two years with the assistance of the government, much has changed in terms of awareness,” said Ghasiram Panda, Programme Manager with Actionaid working with the tribe in the village.
While much has changed on the ground there are many challenges villagers have to cope with. According to the villagers, the inhabitants here are used to marrying off the boys even before facial hair grows.
“As soon as beards and moustaches would start to grow, we used to marry them off. This is the tradition here. For many outsiders, this sounds weird. But child marriage has been rampant here till now. Girls are married younger than the boys,” said Chaita Padan, a villager from the Upper Nagada village.
Health experts also believe child marriages have direct implications for the health of the children and also the health of the mother. Dr Shiva Sharna, a gynecologist, said, “Child marriages have a direct bearing on the health of the child. Immature physical features of a mother can affect the nourishment of the child and their health is likely to be at stake. Adult marriages ensure a healthy child and child marriages especially before 15 years could be risky for the child as well as the mother.”
The tradition to marry off the children at a very young age is imbibed in the culture of the Juang tribe even at the cost of children suffering from stunting, anemia and nutrient-deficiency diet intakes.
Manish Kumar, OP