20 March 2003
Stop the wedding!
If your daughter is not married by the time she is fifteen, she will be left ‘on the shelf’.
That is what many parents in Mayurbhanj Area Development Programme (ADP) used to think. Even today some parents bow to traditional pressure and marry off their daughters early.
Last year WV Community Development Organiser, Tula Chandra, heard that a local family was planning to marry off their 11-year-old daughter, Aditi.* He quickly visited the parents to discuss their decision, which was made for cultural, not financial reasons.
Although marriage for under-18-year-olds is illegal in India, the parents insisted they were doing the best for their daughter. They truly feared that no one would be interested in Aditi if she did not marry soon.
Undeterred, Tula gathered other WV workers to try reasoning with the parents. They explained that the girl was neither physically nor mentally mature enough to get married and raise a family. With education she would have opportunities that would be denied to her, probably forever, if she got married so young.
Eventually the parents agreed their initial choice was not the best option. They cancelled the marriage arrangements and allowed Aditi to return to school. World Vision provided a uniform and study materials for Aditi to encourage them in their change of heart.
* Name has been changed to protect identity
|
