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Lilawati Kumari is a 16-year-old from Mudwa village who participates in the Karuna Project. In one of the classes she attended, she learned about the negative effects of early marriage, as well as how to advocate against it. Lilawati decided that she would raise her voice against child marriage\u00ad\u2014both in the community and in her home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lilawati\u2019s two sisters had both been married at a young age, and her parents were planning the same for her. However, she told her parents that she had other plans: “I want to study and achieve my dreams. I do not want to waste my life like this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lilawati reasoned with them that if they did not stop the marriage, she would call the child helpline and make a report. Despite her stunned parents\u2019 continued efforts to persuade her, Lilawati stood her ground and eventually convinced them to stop trying to force the marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through continued conversations with her parents about child marriage, the laws against it, and its effects on girls, Lilawati helped them understand the negative impact of early marriage on a child\u2019s life, and on the broader society. They are now supportive of Lilawati as she pursues her education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lilawati is excited to bring what she\u2019s learned about the rights of women and girls to others in her community. She says, “I have taken the first step in my family and will be a role model to other girls so that they can take a stand against child marriage in their homes and work towards fulfilling their dreams. I will encourage them to pursue higher studies. Seeing me shine, many people in the community will allow their girls to study and stop early marriages. I thank the Karuna Project for the valuable lessons they are teaching us through these adolescent classes.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In Bihar, India, an alarming 80 per cent of girls are forced into early marriages. Not only does this reduce the likelihood that they will complete school, but it makes young girls\u2014married as early as 12 years old\u2014more susceptible to trafficking for child labour and sexual exploitation. Bihar region also ranks among the states with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":5177,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,85],"tags":[86],"class_list":["post-5172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-impact-stories","category-india","tag-india"],"yoast_head":"\n