Girl saved from forced marriage in Bihar
A PHF grantee working with trafficked girls in Bihar, north west India, has reported on the rescue of a 12 year old girl forced into marriage to a man of 40.
The girl, named as ‘B Kumari’ to protect her identity, was tricked into travelling to another village by her uncle, believing she would attend a relative’s wedding ceremony. When she arrived, she was forced to marry the older man. She was ultimately saved by young women from a local ‘Kishori Samuh’ – a local women’s group that works to protect their peers from early marriage and exploitation, and help girls stay in education and become economically independent.
When members of the Kishori Samuh found out about the marriage, they intervened by contacting the police. After this the marriage was broken up, B Kumari’s relatives and groom were taken into custody, and she returned to her parents.
Trafficking is a significant problem in many parts of rural India, with poor relatives of young girls often taking bribes to cooperate with gangs. In areas susceptible to floods such as Bihar, where people’s livelihoods depend on crops doing well, the problem is compounded by financial insecurity, meaning families of young girls are open to manipulation.
Kishori Samuh groups operate across several districts in India. Bhoomika Vihar, an anti-trafficking organisation based in Bihar, seeks to protect vulnerable young girls from trafficking and abuse by supporting the formation of these groups. By giving young girls a voice in their own families and communities, it seeks to establish an environment where women are valued and able to reach their potential.
Bhoomika Vihar has been receiving support from the PHF India programme since 2010 and is currently receiving funding of £79,711 over three years. The funds are going towards many different strands of work to combat gender inequality, including raising awareness of gender issues through performance art, re-enrolling children in school and working closely with 135 families in ten villages to understand societal attitudes to having female children. Money has also been allocated to working directly to prevent traffickers operating.
Shilpa Singh, Director of Bhoomika Vihar, spoke of the organisation’s progress in the past few years, saying traffickers have now “changed their patterns of trafficking and hesitate to intervene in areas where we are working”. However, the traffickers continue to operate through local agents.
Since returning home, ‘B Kumari’ has re-enrolled at school. She receives regular visits from Kishori Samuh volunteers, who check on her progress and are helping her to realise her ambition to finish her education. It is hoped that the intervention, and continued efforts by Bhoomika Vihar, will prevent others in the village from engaging with traffickers and help keep her classmates safe.
