More girls in India are refusing to become child brides

[Liberal_in_LA]

More girls in India are refusing to become child brides


Roshan Bairwa, center, in red, refused to be married off at age 14. The 17-year-old is now in the 10th grade, and hopes to become a teacher. With the encouragement of Shiv Shiksha Samiti, a charity that promotes women's rights and social development, Roshan and 22 other girls meet and perform skits that encourage girls to safeguard their future. (Mark Magnier / Los Angeles Times / November 12, 2009)


Activists and social workers cite new momentum behind their effort to curtail the practice. They're organizing "wait till you're 18" parades, eliciting pledges, presenting puppet shows and lobbying holy men to stop officiating at underage marriages.

With the encouragement of Shiv Shiksha Samiti, a charity that promotes women's rights and social development, Roshan and 22 other girls meet and perform skits that encourage girls to safeguard their future. And when they hear about girls who are being pushed to marry, they lobby the parents to delay the wedding.

The group said eight child marriages in a 25-village radius have recently been shelved. Although that's a fraction of the 150 that went ahead, it's a big break with the past. Increasingly, those who resist are gaining notice.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-india-child-bride13-2009nov13,0,3501031.story

[Lisa0825]

1. It's a fraction, but it's a start! Good for them :-) nt

[proud patriot]

2. this brought a smile to my face

:)

[Hekate]

3. KnR! You go, girls. nt

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. +1!

[Captain Hilts]

4. And they say there's no good news in the newspaper....nt

[ChazII]

6. Finally a bit of good news this month. n/t

[proteus_lives]

7. Good for them!

:thumbsup:

[druidity33]

8. can the boy refuse?

I wonder if they could also work on the boys to refuse to wed until they're 18 too.

I'd rather see the refusal of children to marry, than just have the girls refuse. I hope there isn't any kind of backlash to this.


K&R

[Sparkly]

9. Of course.

Their law is that girls must be 18 and boys 21. So the rights are already there -- it's a matter of the social consequences (and economic ones, as the elders see it).

I think the reason girls are doing this, rather than boys, is that it takes a huge toll on a girl's ability to make a living *and* on her physical health. It's very dangerous for girls to give birth when they're younger than 16. Also, much of the whole thing centers around girls' "sexual purity," so this goes to the role of women in the culture much more than men.

So yes, boys can refuse to wed as well, but the girls probably know what they're doing in focusing on other girls.

[lunatica]

10. I approve wholeheartedly

You go girls!

[Le Taz Hot]

11. See what happens when you educate women? N/T

[La Lioness Priyanka]

12. this made me smile. a lot of women the urban poor and lower middle class

have been able to delay marriage and child having. I am glad this is spreading to the villages as well

[hayu_lol]

13. This is an outstanding change...

many of the 'husbands' of these underage girls are men in their 40s and 50s. They are essentially buying these girls via the dowry or bride price.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

14. not always. in villages the boys are married young too.

[Tailormyst]

15. Good for them !!!!!!!!!!!

Education, freedom and opportunity for women is the best way to combat poverty and despair.

[Blue Owl]

16. Good for them

Women's rights in general need a total makeover on that side of the globe...

[whathehell]

17. Wow...Good for them!

[LeftishBrit]

18. And good for them, and good luck to them!

[treestar]

19. that's terrific!

Progress is always good.

[apocalypsehow]

20. It's a barbaric practice - good for them! Rec.

:thumbsup: