Preventing Child Marriage 

Name : Suresh

Father’s Name : Raja

Village : Bari ( Hallia – Mirzapur ).
Age : 15 years
Education : Class 9^th student

Family members : Father, Mother, 1 sister, 6 brothers
Means of Livelihood : Agriculture

Details :  Raja is a resident of village Bari ( Hallia block ) and is a Patel.  This year, he finalized the marriage of his son Suresh ( 15 years old and studying in 9^th class ) with 18 year old Sunaina of Kushiyara village. When the members of Baijanti SHG came to know about this, they met Raja and told him about the harmful effects of child marriage. But , Raja was adamant on his decision. After a few days, when father of Sunaina came to meet Raja,  4-5 SHG members  went to Raja’s home and threatened to go to police as  Raja’s son has not attained the minimum age of 21  and hence his marriage will be treated as child marriage. Both the sides felt the pressure of getting involved in legal action and hence they reversed their decision and decided to complete their children’s education.

Conclusion : The efforts of SHG women was instrumental in stopping a case of child marriage.