IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS)

Volume 21, Issue 3, Ver. II (Mar. 2016) PP 47-49

e-ISSN: 2279-0837, p-ISSN: 2279-0845.
www.iosrjournals.or

Success of Community Radio in Addressing Child Marriage in Purulia, West Bengal, India
Nirmalya Mukherjee1*,Biswajit Pal2, Trishita Lodh3& Nasir Ateeq4
1*
Director-Planning,Manbhum Ananda Ashram Nityananda Trust (MANT),
164, P. Majumder Road, North Purbachal, India, Kolkata-700078
2
Assistant Director-Research,Manbhum Ananda Ashram Nityananda Trust (MANT)
3
Assistant Research Officer,Manbhum Ananda Ashram Nityananda Trust (MANT)
4
Communication for Development Specialist, UNICEF Office for West Bengal,
India Country Office

Abstract:The study was done in remote villages of Purulia, West Bengal where incidences of child marriages had been very high. The aim of the study was to
measure the change in perception and level of knowledge and change in prevailing practice regarding child marriage following some behavioural change
initiatives undertaken by an NGO through the Community Radio service. The study clearly indicates that after the sensitization programme of the Qazis, Layas
and Purohitsthe socio-religious persons responsible for solemnizing marriages--there was a significant change in their level of knowledge and a reverse
action in the practice pertaining to non-performing of the marriages where the bride or the bridegroom is of underage. The case studies also clearly indicate
that there is a positive transition in the behaviour of the target community regarding child marriage.

Key words: Child Marriage, Community Radio, Priests, Early Marriage Prevention, Behaviour Change.

I. Introduction
The institution of marriage emanates from the prevalent social norms in any society. The norms get strongly entrenched in the social fabric over a
period of time through the support and protection which they get from the socio-religious and cultural sanctions enforced on individuals, families and groups
belonging to caste, class, clan and tribal formations. In most of the societies even today marriages are solemnized through traditional rituals which are performed
by specialized ritualist institutions and individuals rather than the prevalent modern systems and institutions established by the modern civil laws and
legislations.
India has the second highest number of child marriages, only after Bangladesh in South Asia as reported by UNICEF (2014). Earlier UNICEF
reported with an elaborate data (2013) that West Bengal is one of the top four states of India in respect of child marriages. The report categorically mentioned
that 54.7 per cent of total marriages are that of minor girls. Action Aid reported that the total number of underage married girls, who have also become mothers
before attaining the age of 15 in West Bengal stands at a whopping 27,082, which is the second highest in the country (Kumar, 2013). As per another report of
UNICEF (2011) Purulia is among the four worst off districts with 54.03per cent child marriages. The DLHS-III ( (District Level Household & Facility Survey-
2007-08) observed that the mean age of marriage for girls in Purulia district was 17.7 and the district was at the 4th position in West Bengal regarding early girl
marriage. The DLHS-IV (2012-13), however, found that Purulia ranked 12th (19.5) among other districts of West Bengal regarding early marriage of girls. On
the other hand the DLHS-III highlighted that the mean age of marriage for boys in Purulia was 23.8 and ranked 4th among other districts of West Bengal.
Purulia ranked 2nd with a mean age of 24.4 as reported by DLHS -IV. Percentage of currently married women below the age of 18 (marriages that occurred
during the reference period) was found to be 51.9 in Purulia (rank 16) as reported in DLH-III while the DLHS-IV projected that Purulia ranked 11th with 31.2
per cent women currently married below the age of 18.
The Indian Laws have provisions for stringent actions to prevent and curb the menace of child marriage. The Governments at the Union as well as
the State level have launched special schemes and progammes to address the issue. The Union and many state governments have been implementing
incentivized schemes in campaign mode to prevent child marriage e.g., in October 2013 the Government of West Bengal launched the KanyashreePrakalpa, a
conditional cash transfer scheme under which it provides Rs.500/- per annum to girls belonging to backward classes who study in school and one-time cash of
Rs.25,000/- to each girl upon completion of her school education i.e., after 18 years, provided she doesnt get married by then.
The impact of the stringent laws, schemes and communication campaigns is evident as the trend of child marriage is on the decline over the past
few years. Comparison of findings of District Level Household Survey -III (2007-08) and District Level Household Survey -IV (2012-13) is clearly showing
that percentage of currently married women having married below the age of 18 years declined from 41.3% in 2007-08 to 31.6% in 2012-13 in West Bengal
whereas in respect of men i.e. percentage of currently married men having married below the age of 21 years shows a decline from 21.8% to 15.8%. While the
National Family Survey- III (2005-06) highlighted that percentage of Women aged 20-24 years married before age 18 years was 53.3% whereas the recently
conducted National Family Health Survey -IV found that it has come down to 40.7% in West Bengal. The studies also showed that the percentage of Men
married before 21 years also declined from 32.4% to 24% during that period in West Bengal. However, the decline is very slow as the resistance from the social
and cultural norms is too strong and there are hardly any innovative social and political approaches to creatively counter and change those norms and accelerate
the pace of the decline in child marriage.
Child marriage is a socially embedded phenomenon which is deep rooted in our culture. So to uproot child marriage from culture it requires a 3600
approach which will include all its stakeholders and decision makers. Few well accepted theories to reduce or prevent child marriage includes increasing access
to education for girls, providing economic opportunities for young women, supporting the needs of the Child bride, supporting and upscaling of community
programmes and evaluating programmes to identify the determinant that works.
Priests, NikahQazis, Purohits and Layas are the traditional ritualists who perform marriages for Christians, Muslims, Hindus and Tribes in India,
respectively. These marriage ritualists are inevitable factors for solemnization of each marriage taking place among the local population under their catchment
area/s. They can play a decisive role in changing the existing mind-set and social norms pertaining to child marriage, if they are strategically mobilized and
sensitized about the issue of child marriage.
As stated earlier, these ritualists are one of the most critical influential forces for changing the norms which support child marriage because of their
inevitable role and respectable position in traditional marriage ceremonies.
Hardly any marriage, including child marriage, inter caste, inter faith and even runaway marriage is possible in most part of India, in fact across the
South Asia, without the rituals performed by them.

II. The Interventions:

NasirAteeq, Communication for Development Specialist of UNICEF West Bengal, a couple of years back, conceptualized and strategized the
systematic mapping and mobilization of NikahQazis, Purohits and Layas in West Bengal. The strategy gave limited emphasis on the mapping of the Christian
Priests as the Christian population is very low as compared to other religious communities and also the incidence of child marriage is much less in this
community in India.
The strategy, as stated above, of supporting and up scaling of community programmes was taken up to make some grassroots interventions to
prevent child marriage in selected areas as it would include almost all the stakeholders and decision makers. The first ever NGO run Community Radio in
Purulia started to operate, in the year 2010 with support from UNICEF. The Radio has been producing programmes both in Santhali (indigenous language) and
Bengali languages. The community reporters engaged in Community Radio have been reporting on many issues including early marriage problem which came
to the fore when the incidence of child marriages is being reported frequently by the print media. Initially the reporters talked with the villagers, girls, parents
and their relatives about the issue and tried to make them understand the problem of early marriage. At this juncture it was decided that a two pronged strategy
is to be evolved and applied to address the issue. First, a campaign against early marriage, highlighting the hazards and the law for educating the adolescents and
their parents and second a series of sensitization programmes for the Santhali (Tribal) priests called Laya, Hindu priests called Purohit and the Muslim priests
called Qazi, who have been solemnizing marriages in the area, implanting in them the legal formalities that are to be observed and the why and how of them.
The methodology of sensitization workshops included audio-visual presentations, interactive sessions with minor girls and experts and while for adolescents and

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 Success Of Community Radio Station In Addressing Child Marriage In Purulia, West Bengal, India
their parents the programmes were prepared in an edutainment format, wherein songs, stories and dance (during narrow-cast by the Community Radio Reporters
and volunteers) were used to transmit messages related to child marriages and the concomitant legalities. The Community reporters and volunteers prepared the
programmes relating to the issues of Child marriage in the local language after a thorough research and field work. They visited the villages with radio
magazines prepared for the purpose to aware the people in general and girls and their parents in particular and to sensitize them about the harmfulness of early
marriages and the provisions of the law and Government programmes which could be availed by the adolescent girls for having a decent future. For achieving
the political backing the elected representatives of the local government were also sensitized through organisation of sensitization workshops.
Initially, specific formats were designed to map out the local marriage ritualists. The community radio reporters and volunteers were deployed to
map out the local ritualists, sensitize them and monitor their activities for the prevention of child marriage in their catchment area/s and record the same on the
prescribed monitoring formats. Preparation of religious, cultural and social specific communication messages and materials for the orientation and sensitization
of the ritualists was the next step. The key components of the strategy were the following:
A guideline for the mapping, mobilization and sensitization of NikahQazis, Purohits and Layas focusing on the areas inhabited by the three
communities i.e., Hindus, Muslims and Tribes
A format to record the name, address and the catchment area/s for each marriage ritualist, and regularly updating it, say on monthly basis.
Preparing religious, cultural and social specific communication messages in the form of leaflet, appeal, endorsement, Q&A, FAQ, etc.
Dissemination of the endorsements and appeals of the ritualists to prevent child marriage, especially of the prominent ritualists through leaflets,
local tribal newspapers and more emphatically through community radio which was extremely helpful in giving away the messages to common
people that even the Qazis, Purohits and Layas are not in favour of child marriage;
Organization of interactive meetings with the ritualists, listening and understanding their insights and perspectives on the issue of marriage and
child marriage,
Identify and clearly specify the critical role and responsibilities that the marriage ritualists can perform for effective prevention of child marriage in
their catchment area/s. The identification of the role and responsibilities is based on the knowledge elicited from their perspectives, insights,
challenges and opportunities which they share during the course of interactive meetings;
Ensuring their commitment for the prevention of child marriage.

For monitoring of the activities and assess the effectiveness of the strategies adopted the following set of indicators were developed:
The number of marriage rituals performed per month by each NikahQazi, Purohit, Laya;
Number of marriages in which each of them verifies the age of the bride and the groom;
Number of the bride and the groom found underage by each and action taken: [i] informing bride/ groom, parents and relatives about the underage
which is inappropriate and illegal, [ii] advising the parties involved to wait till the bride / groom attains appropriate age, [iii] refusing to perform the
marriage rituals, [iv] threaten to inform the law enforcement agencies
Against this backdrop the sensitization workshops were organized during August to October 2015 under the aegis of Community Radio initiative
and the campaign for adolescents was conducted till December 2015. 21 Narrow cast sessions were organised and duly attended by 436 adolescent girls and
their parents. The community reporters and village journalists were entrusted to visit the NikahQazis, Purohits and Layas twice a month for the purpose of
follow up and to prepare reports as per the indicators mentioned above. They were also visited the parents to make them aware about the problems of early
marriage and legal consequences of the same. This has still being continued by the community radio people.
Initially, there was a resistance from the ritualists. They told the community reporters that by solemnizing marriages they earn their breads and if
they would not do that then somebody else would do that. Hence, at the initial phase community reporters visited the ritualists for interpersonal communication
purpose. It was told that all the ritualists would be part-and parcel of the initiative and nobody would be allowed to perform any under-age marriage in future. In
this case the local Government support came in handy. The elected leaders played an important role to convince the ritualists that there would be full support
from the local government and hence there would not be any loss of the ritualists by participating in the intervention. After that the resistance gradually
diminishes and the ritualists participated in the initiative to make it a successful one.

III. Methodology
Participants of the sensitization programmes on early marriage were 24 Layas (Tribal Marriage Priests), 18 Purohits (Hindu Marriage Priests) and
15Qazis (Muslim Marriage Priests). They were interviewed on pre and post programme basis with the help of a pre-structured questionnaire so that their change
in the level of knowledge and perception about child marriage can be traced easily. A different set of questionnaire was prepared for the Qazis as their interest
and perception about child marriage and adolescent health was different from that of the Purohits and the Layas. The questionnaires were structured with 15
questions for the purohits/layas and 23 questions for the Qazis related to adolescents, social status, health and knowledge about early marriage. For each positive
answer the award was 1 and for negative response it was 0. After proper compilation, the data were analysed statistically with paired sample t-test.
IV. Result
Table 1: T-test result of pre and post sensitization programme of Layas and Purohits:
Laya Purohit

Parameters/Questions
Pre-test Post-test correct Sig. (2- Pre-test Post-test Sig. (2-
Correct (%) (%) Mean dif. tailed) Correct (%) correct (%) Mean dif tailed)
91.7 100 0.083 0.162 94.4 100 0.056 0.331
Boys and girls should get the same importance in the society
91.7 100 0.083 0.162 94.4 100 0.056 0.331
Elders should stand by adolescent in any and every problem
A careless attitude towards adolescents can seriously harm their future life 91.7 100 0.083 0.162 94.4 100 0.056 0.331
Social problems like teasing, use of slangs make adolescents mentally 87.5 100 0.125 0.083 77.8 100 0.222 0.04
depressed
In any physical or sexual problem the elders of the adolescents family 95.8 100 0.042 0.328 94.4 100 0.056 0.331
should support them
To make adolescents aware about the evils of antisocial work is the duty of 95.8 100 0.042 0.328 100 100 0 1
the elders of the family
95.8 100 0.042 0.328 100 100 0 1
Adolescents should be aware of their social and cultural heritage
Elders should respect the will of a teenage girls and boys 87.5 91.7 0.042 0.575 94.4 88.9 0.056 0.579
If the elders of the family misbehave with the adolescent then we should 95.8 100 0.042 0.328 94.4 100 0.056 0.331
talk to them
Marriage before 18 years of age is punishable offence 95.8 95.8 0.000 1 100 100 0.000 1
Before 18 years of age teenage girls are not fully physically developed for 54.2 83.3 0.292 0.016 77.8 94.4 0.167 0.083
pregnancy
Getting pregnant before the age of 18 could cause both the child and the 62.5 91.7 0.292 0.032 66.7 100 0.333 0.01
mother a great risk
Preventing child marriage is our social and moral duty 79.2 95.8 0.167 0.103 66.7 100 0.333 0.01
Do you know about KanyashreePrakalpa? 45.8 91.7 0.458 0.001 88.9 100 0.111 0.163
Do you know about the AnweshaPrakalpa? 16.7 79.2 0.625 0.000 5.6 100 0.944 0.000

It was found that the respondents improved their knowledge base vis-a-vis the questions after the sensitization programme was over. In case of
Layas, it was found that there was a significant increase in their knowledge level regarding marriage before 18 years, early pregnancy etc. A significant change
was also noted in their information level relating to Kanyasree and Anwesha clinics which are government initiatives. Purohits equally and significantly
enriched their knowledge relating to Anwesha clinic on attending this sensitization programme. They were found to have been motivated to stop child marriage
which is clearly reflected in their response at the end of the sensitization programme.

Table 2: T-test result of pre and post sensitization programme of the Qazis:
Pre-test Post-test Mean
Qs. No. Questions Sig. (2-tailed)
correct answer correct answer differences
1 In the adolescent period, there seems a number of changes in human body 86.67 100.00 0.133 0.164

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 Success Of Community Radio Station In Addressing Child Marriage In Purulia, West Bengal, India
2 These changes are natural 73.33 100.00 0.267 0.041
3 These changes are caused by some hormones generated in our body 93.33 100.00 0.067 0.334
4 Changes in the boys and girls in the adolescent periods are different 86.67 100.00 0.133 0.164

5 Boys and girls should know about these changes of the adolescent period in advance 93.33 100.00 0.067 0.334

6
In the adolescent period, boys and girls should be provided proper knowledge about 93.33 100.00 0.067 0.334
the sexual, psychological and social changes which occur
7 In this period, the adolescents may get harm from the same age groups 73.33 100.00 0.267 0.041
8 In the adolescence period, growth rate of the boys and girls are very high 86.67 93.33 0.067 0.334
9 For this growth, they need proper nutrition 93.33 100.00 0.067 0.334
10 The adolescents should be provided proper diet and nutrition 93.33 100.00 0.067 0.334
11 Are you aware of proper diet and nutrition? 40.00 66.67 0.267 0.104
12 Boys and girls both have same rights in this society 93.33 100.00 0.067 0.334

13
In this period adolescent boys and girls should get same attention and importance 93.33 100.00 0.067 0.334
regarding health matters
14
The adults of the family should be aware and inform the adolescents about the 86.67 100.00 0.133 0.164
biological, sexual, psychological and social issues
15 The elders of the family should support if they feel and/or face any challenge 100.00 100.00 0.067 0.334

16
The negligence towards the adolescents in this time may cause greater problems in 100.00 100.00 0.067 0.334
their future life
17 Marrying girls before 18 years is an illegal offence 93.33 93.33 0.067 0.334
18 Girls before 18 years of age are physically not ready for pregnancy 86.67 86.67 0.067 0.334
19 Anaemia is one of the major problems in the adolescence period 86.67 100.00 0.133 0.164
20 The boys and girls should be aware and informed about dangers of the intoxicants 100.00 100.00 0.133 0.164

21
Social problems, like teasing, using abusive languages etc. make adolescent boys or 100.00 100.00 0.133 0.164
girls mentally depressed
22 Do you know about the KANYASHREE Project? 60.00 93.33 0.333 0.019

23 Do you know about the ANWESHA Project? 0.00 73.33 0.733 0.000

From table 2 it is clear that there was a significant difference between the score of knowledge of Qazis before and after they go through the
awareness programme. Hence, it is evident that the awareness programme brought about a positive impact to increase the knowledge level of Qazis regarding
the adolescent health.
Case Study-1
JamunaMudi, a 13 year old tribal girl and a student of Class VII, accomplished a daring deed. Her marriage was settled against her will. She
participated earlier in the Radio Programme and knew that such marriage was not only illegal but unsafe and hazardous for her health too; hence she protested.
As a first step Jamuna called the grooms family and conveyed her unwillingness. Then on 13th of May, 2015 she fled from her home and took shelter at a
centre for Children. Later, when support for her stand came from various corners in showers, her parents relented and now she happily pursues her education.

Case Study-2
Two Purohits, Mr. Sridhar Chattopadhyay and Mr.BasudevMukhopadhyay of PunchaCharanpahari Kali Mandir (Goddess Kali Temple), declined
to solemnize the marriage of a boy who was then 6 months short of 21. The Purohits said that they wanted to verify the Birth Certificates of both the bride and
the groom and as they found that the boy was not yet eligible for marriage, they refused to perform marriage rituals.

V. Conclusion
It was found that participants improved their knowledge after attending the programme and also acted in a desirable manner. There is significant
increase in the knowledge level of the Layas regarding the law related to marriages and consequences of child marriage (p-value <0.01). There are also
considerable changes in information level related to Government Programmes that are available. Purohits have also significantly enriched their knowledge
related to the issue while they are found to be motivated to stop child marriage which is clearly reflected in their answersas the pre-test and post-test
indicatedthe earlier attitude getting reversed after the sensitization programme (p-value <0.01). The knowledge level of the Qazis regarding issues like
changes during the adolescent period, risk from peer pressure, cause of menstruation and ejaculation, Kanyasree and Anwesha project had significantly (p<0.05)
increased. The case studies are a clear evident of the fact that a well-articulated behaviour change initiative can work effectively for behaviour and social norms
change and can prevent the evil practices in the society like child marriage. It could be safely said that the Community Radio can play effective role in achieving
the two much talked about important goals of communication for development i.e. first, providing information in local language and dialect in the edutainment
format and second, promoting development projects like KanyashreePrakalpa in this case. Now it is to be safely said that the systematic sensitization and
involvement of the Layas, the Purohits and the NikahQazis is proving to be a decisive factor in providing the much needed thrust and acceleration for the
prevention of child marriages.

References
[1]. Child Marriage in India, An analysis of available data(2012), By United Nations ChildrensFund, New Delhi
[2]. http://unicef.in/Story/176/On-Stage-Against-Child-Marriage.
[3]. http://unicef.in/PressReleases/138/Against-Child-Marriage-Children-Demand-Their-Rights-For-a-Secure-Future-
[4]. http://unicef.in/Story/187/Launch-of-Children-s-Movement-Against-Child-Marriage-2010
[5]. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India, 2006. National Family Health Survey-III (2005-06),
[6]. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of India, 2015. National Family Health Survey-IV (2015-16),
[7]. International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), 2010. DistrictLevel Household and Facility Survey (DLHS-3), 2007-08: India.Mumbai
[8]. International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), 2014. District Level Household and Facility Survey (DLHS-4): State Fact Sheet West Bengal, 2012-13: India. Mumbai
[9]. Kumar, Kumkum, (2013): Too young to wed-Early Marriages in West Bengal. Action Aid. http://www.actionaid.org/india/2013/11/too-young-wed-early-marriages-west-bengal

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