Birhor Tribe Joins Movement Against Child Marriage | 17 Dec 2024
Why in News?
Recently, people belonging to the Birhor tribe, a particularly vulnerable tribal group in Jharkhand, have joined a movement against child marriage for the first time.
Key Points
- Birhor Community:
- The Birhor people are a semi-nomadic tribal community, heavily forest-dependent, and economically and socially marginalized.
- For the first time, hundreds of Birhor community members in Jharkhand's Giridih district joined a movement against child marriage, a rampant practice within their community.
- Awareness on Child Marriage Consequences:
- The Just Rights for Children Alliance (JRC) highlighted that the event marked the first awareness drive where the community was informed about the legalities and consequences of child marriage.
- Youth, children, women, and elders gathered under the glow of candles, taking a collective pledge to end child marriage and to report any such cases.
- Support for Government Campaign:
- The marches were organized by Banvasi Vikas Ashram as part of the 'Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat' campaign, launched by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development.
- Banvasi Vikas Ashram is one of 250 partner Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) under the JRC alliance.
- The ill effects of child marriage on children's health, education, and overall well-being were discussed to make the Birhor tribe aware of the social evil.
- JRC claimed to have stopped over 7,000 child marriages in Jharkhand between April and December 2024 through events in blocks, villages, and schools across all 24 districts.
- The marches were organized by Banvasi Vikas Ashram as part of the 'Bal Vivah Mukt Bharat' campaign, launched by the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development.
- High-Prevalence Districts:
- Jamtara, Deoghar, Godda, Giridih, Koderma, and Dumka were identified as districts with a higher prevalence of child marriage cases.
Birhor Tribe
- Physical appearance: They are short, with long heads, wavy hair, and broad noses.
- Language: Their language is similar to Santali, Mundari, and Ho.
- Religion: They practice a combination of animism and Hinduism. The Sun God is their supreme deity, along with Lugu Buru and Budhimai.
- Economy: The Birhor have a "primitive subsistence economy" based on hunting and gathering, but some have settled into agriculture. They make ropes from vine fibers to sell to nearby agricultural people.
- Socioeconomic status: The Birhor are divided into two groups based on their socioeconomic status: the wandering Uthlus and the settled Janghis.
