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Balamis eschew child marriage for education
KATHMANDU, NOV 09 - Although they are of marriageable age as per their tradition, 11-year-old Arjun Balami and 12-year-old Rajkumar are not marrying during this year’s Shreepanchami (the day when the goddess of education is worshiped). "We will not marry, we will continue our schooling," said the children in single voice.
Till last year it used to be a common practice of the villagers of Kagati Gaun to organise marriage ceremonies during Shreepanchami for children of 10 and 11years.
The situation has now changed, especially due to various news items carried out by Kantipur daily, sister publication of ‘The Kathmandu Post’ and other newspapers, as well as different social organisations working in Kagati village to create awareness among villagers. The villagers have changed their concepts and started sending their children to school.
The villagers declared their new found enthusiasm for sending their children to school at the inaugural session of a health care centre built by Miyagi International in co-operation with Lions Club Kathmandu, Sukunda here today. Though they are still somewhat confused they are prepared to take action against families who would dare to arrange child marriages.
"We are committed to educating our children and eliminating child marriage," said Balaram Shrestha, president of Maha Laxmi Youth Club of Okharpauwa.
The Club has been running different awareness programmes against child marriage since 2056 B. S., said Shrestha who noted that child marriages were prevalent due to illiteracy and lack of awareness. According to him, awareness programmes were helping to create awareness among the villagers.
Though Shreepanchami is two months away, instead of preparing for their children’s marriage the locals are now conducting meetings on how to punish anyone who arranges marriage for his/her child.
However, due to his family problems the villagers allowed Singhe Balami to arrange the marriage of his under-age child.
Among the three hundred houses of Kagati Gaun of about five thousand people, most are of the Balami community. This year the villagers are committed not to allow child marriages under any condition.
They are now fed up of complaints that the Balami are the only community, which organises child marriages. The community wants to change people’s perspectives. This year they admitted 200 children into school.
"It’s too much hearing complaints from people, it’s really humiliating, now we will send all the children to school," assured Jit Bahadur Balami, former VDC president.
"This year we are not planning to decorate marriage altars, instead we are organising camps to bring about awareness of education for our children," he added.
"No one has declared marriage, now onwards every one will send his/her children to school and no one will force his/her child to marry," said Tek Bahadur, a local.
Earlier, they used to feel that they were preserving their tradition by arranging child marriage, but now they have realised that they were wrong. People in this community agree that it was media, which helped them to change their concept.
"This time we will invite media to watch children going to school not to the marriage altar," assured Shrestha.Posted on: 2003-11-08 08:40
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