Nirmala Saud of Kalikasthan, Doti has begun to take interests in wedding ceremonies taking place in her village. Once at a wedding ceremony, Nirmala first checks the age of the bride and groom. If both of them are over 20, she congratulates them and returns; if any one of the couple is underage, she clicks into action. First, she persuades the concerned family to stop the child marriage, and if they don’t agree, she informs the police. 

Doti is one of the districts with the highest rates of child marriage. According to the census of 2010, about 65 per cent of the total married couples were married when underage; 13 percent of the total married couples were married when one of them was below 13. 

Nirmala is the secretary of the recently-formed Navajyoti Children’s Club. One of the primary objectives of the club, which comprises of 21 active members, is to change the alarming state of child marriage in the village. Within a few months of its inception, the club’s efforts are already bearing fruit.

“One of our foremost goals is to regulate and police this dire state of child marriage in the village and eventually in the district,” says Nirmala. “We have begun to raise awareness among the villagers by warning them about the consequences of breaching the law. There have been a few cases where we had to call the police so as to prevent child marriage.” 

Nirmala informs that the club has also started to stage street drama, in a bid to raise awareness among the villagers. So far, the club has staged plays in nine venues across the district. 

“During the early days we had received threats, demanding us to stop what we were doing. But we have not been deterred. Later this month, we are planning to stage more street plays as a part of the campaign,” Nirmala says.

Milan Pariyar of the Society of Women and Children, which was formed under the District Police Office, says the effort by children’s club has proven instrumental in bringing about change in the perception of locals. “Initially, there were times when we had to provide refuge to the members of the club, because they were under threat and very insecure.  Now we hear that they are treated with much respect in the village,” says Pariyar. 

The role of children’s clubs—which sums to the current count of 239 registered clubs in the district—in minimising social ills has been influential and if they continue, this could go a long way to bring about change, says Haridutta Pande, of the District Chlid Welfare Committee.