110 tribal villages in MP vow to end child marriages, stick to it
A year ago, on January 18, 2018, primitive Saharia tribal residents from 15 villages in Pohari block of Shivpuri district in MP took some important vows. They resolved to give up liquor and tobacco products, but more importantly they decided not to get their children married before they attained the legal age.
It was a big resolve for a society that is considered still strongly bound by traditions – good or bad. But a year on, the movement has only spread and residents of all 110 Saharia-dominated villages proudly claim that they have stuck to their vow on ending child marriages, even though some might have faltered on the resolve regarding de-addiction.
A discussion with young girls and adults from some of these villages does confirm the claim. “My parents told me last year that they would like me to continue my studies and not plan my marriage anytime soon,” Sapna Saharia, a class 9 student in Jakhnod village says.
Her parents Raghubir and Bhagwati confirm the decision. “We would like all our children to become self-dependent before they are married,” Bhagwati said.
Sapna, the least shy among the village girls Rajni, Lalita, Rita and Usha, continues that they as young girls know that getting married early could ruin their health and that of coming babies. Also the economic burden on young couple becomes greater if early marriages happen, she says.
Ramdulari Adiwasi, from Machakhurd village, agrees that one of the reasons for high maternal and child mortality in the area was because of early marriages and says that this resolve would continue. Atar Singh, from village Mehra says that before marriage it is important that the young people attain the ability to run their families and also are physically and mentally in a shape to become healthy and good parents. SushilaAdiwasi from Jakhnod also agrees to the point.
Ajay Yadav, a local social activist who works on a community-based malnutrition management programme in Pohari block, says that it is pleasantly surprising to see the primitive tribe people keeping up such a strong resolve on an important issue. “We had just given an outside input on the issue to RamkishoreSaharia of Parasari village and some others who was promoting giving up of bad habits and traditions and they wonderfully adopted it,” he says.
Shivpuri district collector Anugraha P says that it is a healthy and appreciable initiative and the district administration would do its best to get it reciprocated elsewhere.
Tribal hamlet where a 20-day old malnourished girl died in a bamboo basket gets Anganwadi, school[1]
SHIVPURI: As we travelled to this typical tribal hamlet in Pohri block of Shivpuri district, I started getting the goosebumps – something unusual for me. But the hamlet in Jakhnaud had eerie memories linked and the unseasonal rain that had hit the area in the morning did nothing to lift my somber mood.
This was the hamlet where I had found a shrunken motherless newborn girl – who lived in a bamboo basket for 20 days – and succumbed despite our best efforts in last days of August 2016.
So when I reached the hamlet, which looked almost exactly as it did over two years ago from the outside, I did not expect much, despite the assurances of the local activist Ajay Yadav – a Child Rights and You (CRY) fellow.
But when I saw the happy faces of villagers gathered at an anganwadi, I sensed the change.
During the course of past two years, the Saharia-dominated settlement – a part of bigger Jakhnaud village had gotten the second anganwadi and the second school and all the Saharia kids now were into pre-school or school activities. They got their nutritious diet and mid-day meals regularly, the local villagers told us.
The village has an old anganwadi and school, but it was situated far away from the Saharia settlement and these children never got benefitted from them.
NO MATERNAL/CHILD DEATHS IN 2 YEARS
And the biggest point of solace was the no maternal or child death had been recorded during the past two years, ever since we brought to light the heart wrenching story of the newborn girl in bamboo basked who could only survive for 20 days in August of 2016.
“All this happened after your visit and the story that appeared. We pushed for the facilities,” Bharatlal, a villager said. Ajay agreed and added that the NewsBits story pushed the local and state administration into flurry of action and by October 2017, the hamlet had separate primary school and anganwadi for Saharia kids. Also local Saharia women were appointed as anganwadi worker and assistant and culture of feeding local food to the kids was being followed.
“No mothers or children have died in the village since Jasoda and her unfortunate daughter in 2016,” SushilaAdiwasi, another villager told us.
THE SHOCKING INCIDENT THAT DID IT
Once in the hamlet, I could vividly recollect the shocking scenario I had come witnessed that fateful August 2016 day. I was on another story, when I was told about Jasoda and her baby that had been left unnamed as the family expected it to die after her mother passed away within days after childbirth.
Despite distinctly humid conditions, I had found the baby lying in the bamboo basket, totally covered with a blanket folded in layers and a totally unused milk bottle placed near her head. Her shriveled chest was heaving unusually and I and the social activist accompanying me could see the fatally bad shape the child was in.
It was after lot of convincing of the family – inclusive of a TB-struck grandfather and sole breadwinner manual labourer grandmother (the father of the child migrated for work) – that we could get the baby to the Special Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) in Pohri. But the extremely malnourished girl could not survive even the night.
I, despite being journalist covering such issues for two decades, was left numbed and feeling helpless, but ended up doing what I could do best. Write a story on the child. The story went places and hit the right one. Jakhnaud is today a changed village, at least for the Saharia kids.
Jaya Singh, associate general manager of CRY India, which is running a community-based malnutrition management programme in the block, told NewsBits – “In any situation, it is the community that can play the strongest role. We just need to give them the confidence, the capacity and the direction. Jakhnaud village has become an example of fact that issues could be resolved with community participation.”
[1] Written by Journalist Sravni Sarkar
