Nabarangpur/Bhubaneswar
She is daring. She is diligent. She is dedicated. Epithets pile on to extol this gritty woman.
Lovingly called Rashmi, 29-year-old Binika Smita Benia of Dandasara village, looks frail and fragile. But she has the fire and firmness of a crusader. Tanned by life’s trials and tribulations after the death of her father in 2016, she has learnt to live without fear under the wings of her widow mother Manorama, an Anganwadi worker.
A college dropout, Rashmi worked as a teacher and then served as a paramedic till 2018 when her sick younger brother passed away. But she was never shocked into silence, shedding tears over the setback.
Since her childhood, Rashmi has had the yen for social service, and opportunity came in 2019. Now a cluster coordinator under UNICEF’s Sampurna Barta Project, she waged a war against child marriage. “My two-day training under UNICEF in nearby Koraput braced me up to fight on,” says Rashmi.
Her maiden adventure to Turpena under Raighar block was a tad shaky as her nerve to knock down the institution of audacity against child marriage could trigger off public animosity. However, she pulled up her socks and sat across the table with some leaders (mostly of Gond tribe) of the locality at the Anganwadi centre. The interaction had a cozy and cordial feel. Yet it proved a sham.
Outwardly, the locals seemed to be on page with her. In reality though, they never shook off the practice of child marriage.
Undeterred and lesson learned, Rashmi continued her mission zealously and foiled a number of child marriages in Turpena with her band of dedicated social workers in subsequent phases.
“Till now, I have covered more than 217 villages and foiled over 18 child marriages despite all odds. People howled and threatened. But I have never given in,” she tells The Indian Tribal.
“Once I was tipped off about a child marriage in Bhasundi Colony under Raighar block. I rushed there where about 40 residents tried all means to shoo me away. But I did not flee and finally, the marriage could not be solemnized,” she narrates an experience.
“The doughty girl could convince us all of the ills of child marriage,” said a tribal in the area, requesting anonymity.
In another incident, two minors of Rahaspur under Raighar block fled to a nearby area of Chhattisgarh to tie the knot with their parents’ support. But Rashmi arrived at the spot with the police.
“I was determined to get the ‘perpetrators’ arrested under the Prevention of Child Marriage Act. The parents of the absconding minors then contacted their children who finally returned.”
Rashmi is still on mission, earning accolades from the government and UNICEF officials. “Rashmi is now a member of Block Child Protection Committee, Raighar. She has earned it solely for her performance,” says Gitanjali Mishra, the Child Marriage Prohibition Officer, Nawarangpur.
“Rashmi’s relentless effort is now yielding results,” said Santosh Behera, a UNICEF official.
Odisha has targeted 2030 to make the State free of child marriages.
FACTOID
- In 2019-20, Nabarangpur had 39.4% girls married under age of 18 years, while Odisha’s average was 20.5% and national average was 23.3%, according to a National Family Health Survey.
- Odisha government provides monetary incentive to encourage late marriage and discourage child marriage particularly among 13 (out of 62 tribal groups) particularly vulnerable tribal groups ((PVTG) under Odisha PCTG Empowerment and Livelihoods Improvement Programme (OPELIP).
- Incentive was Rs. 2000 in 2018-19. It was enhanced to Rs. 10,000 in 2020-21 and further hiked to Rs. 20,000 in 2021-22. As many as 143 girls received the incentive in 2020-21. The number shot up to 180 in 2021-22.
- As per NFHS-4 (2015-16) the prevalence of child marriage in Odisha was 21.3%. The percentage decreased to 20.5%, according to NFHS-5 (2019-20)
- As many as 1,798 cases were registered in India during the period between 2018 and 2020 under the provisions of Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. Out of the total number of registered cases in the country, Odisha accounted for 68 cases.
