Foranta - free to be a child

Her grandmother was just 2 years old when she married; her mother was 5 when she married her 7 year old father. It seemed only right that 10 year old Foranta should follow tradition and be wed young. It was just what happened here, especially as there were fewer girl children to go around.

In fact, Foranta’s father Ambalal had made an agreement 5 years before that she would marry the son of a friend’s friend. That son was now 12 years old. If he went back on the promise, his friend’s own daughter’s wedding would be called off too. In India this process of exchanging children to make good marriages is known as Ala Sata and it stems from the shortage of young girls.

Ambalal had made the commitment, and when Foranta was 9 years old he started making the wedding preparations. He bought all the ingredients to make sweets, vegetable dishes and snacks and built a special structure out of the mud for cooking on. All his relatives and everyone from his village, Shalsagar was invited to the party.

A member of the Village Development Committee (VDC) heard about the upcoming wedding, and three days before it was due to take place they visited Ambalal and urged him not to let the marriage happen. He seemed determined to go ahead with it. One of the CBOs (Community Based Organisations), the Youth Mandal or Youth Council, became aware of the situation and that Ambalal was ignoring the VDC’s request. They informed the Sub-Divisional Magistrate who sent a teacher to meet Ambalal and explain the legal implications he could face- imprisonment and a fine. The official also informed the police who came and took Foranta’s father to the police station. The next day Ambalal faced the Block Level court and signed a written agreement that his daughter would not get married until she was 18, and until that time she would attend school.

Foranta is a shy child, but when she does speak she tells of how much she enjoys school. She is making use of a Cluster Resource Centre GVNML set up, reading interesting books and painting. She feels free to be a child. If she was married, she said she would feel other responsibilities and would be told not to behave like a child.

Her mother said she had no idea about the drawbacks of chid marriage, she thought it was normal. Now that she knows the negative effects it can have on children she feels very strongly that girls should not be married before the age of 18.

Looking back, Ambalal is thankful to the VDC for stopping the marriage. He has saved a lot of money that would have been spent keeping a good relationship with his son-in-law’s family until Foranta went to live with her husband aged 15. When her husband’s family visited, Foranta would have had to cover her face and he sees now it is not good for a child’s life to be married young and miss out on an education.

In this case, the VDC weren’t just responsible for stopping one child wedding, they turned Foranta’s parents into advocates against child marriage. It is these changes in behaviour which will now pass down through generations of her family. Changing traditions which have been alive for hundreds of years is a slow process, and it is not just new laws that will change behaviour. It takes significant social efforts to make the smallest revolutions here.

In 2009-10, 12 potential child marriages were reported and stopped. It is estimated that in Rajasthan 72% of families arrange a child marriage before their daughters are 18. GVNML is working with VDCs in 8 villages to stop upcoming child marriages. GVNML’s work with Sub-Divisional Magistrates encourages them to recognise the requests of CBOs, particularly in this issue.