70-yo doctor helps Bihar’s Musahar community break the shackles of child marriage and labor

On a regular day in Bihar, Seema Kumari found herself engrossed in her usual household chores when her father unexpectedly requested her to get ready as he was awaiting visitors. Unaware of the reason, he immediately prepared himself and then directed them to greet the arriving family.

Seema was taken aback when the conversation between the two families turned to the wedding rituals. At the tender age of 17, she found herself in an unenviable position. The memories of her elder sister, who was also married off at a young age even though she had only passed class 6, came flooding back to her.

“I didn’t know my marriage was getting fixed. After the family left, I protested to my father that I did not want to get married. My father asked me, ‘Then what would you do?’, recalls in conversation with Seema The Better India,

Within Bihar, 40.8 percent of women, representing four out of every 10, enter into marriage before reaching the legally mandated age of 18. Out of 38 districts in the state, 12 districts have crossed the average prevalence of child marriage. Notably, Seema’s hometown Jamui is one such district along with Supaul, Purnia, Saharsa and Begusarai.

Child marriage is linked to abject poverty and lack of education and awareness often forces young girls to marry. But that day Seema was able to get out of this maze. “I told my father that I wanted to become an ANM (Auxiliary Nurse Midwife). Luckily, he decided to support me, and talks of my marriage stopped,” says the 22-year-old, a second-year student at Jamui’s RB Chandra Para Medical Nursing College.

“If I had not spoken up, I would have been forced into marriage like other girls in the village. They marry young, become mothers early, and suffer health problems because of their vulnerability. Today I feel empowered; All this has been possible due to the efforts of doctor sir, It was because of his guidance that I got inspired to study,” she says.

For the past two decades, Dr. Shankar Nath Jha, a pediatrician by profession, has volunteered to help children like Seema use education as a tool of empowerment. Like Seema, she has helped 407 children from the district’s Musahar community break the shackles of child marriage and labour.

Due to her efforts, today Seema is able to afford her college fees of Rs 1.5 lakh and is teaching around 30 children from her community in a village. Chaupal,

Socially marginalised, the Musahar community lies at the bottom of India’s caste system. in Mushar Bhojpuri Literally means “rat eater”. They were often forced to subsist on a diet of rodents. Although their main occupation was rat catching, they now mostly work in agriculture and as brick kiln labourers.

The community lives in some districts of Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and eastern Uttar Pradesh. According to the 2011 census, Bihar is home to at least 2.5 lakh Musharas.

Dr. Jha, who has been working in the medical service for the last 40 years, often used to meet patients from the Musahar community in his clinic. Describing their socioeconomic status, he says, “Their children are malnourished. Even if their children died, they would not shed tears (as the mortality rate was high and they were often emotionally exhausted). I used to see thin girls with babies in their arms. It will be very heartbreaking to see,” explains the 70-year-old The Better India,

“I often wondered if they could have a better life if they graduate or at least learn to read and write. But there is little awareness in society. They live in unhygienic conditions and are involved in child labour. Forget about girls, we could not even find boys who had passed Class 10. I wanted to work for these children,” he says.

According to The Mushar: A Socio-Economic Study Supported by the National Human Rights Commission by Patna’s AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies, education among community members was almost non-existent, with a literacy rate of only six percent. “The government’s development programs have not reached them,” the study notes.

“Political parties also do not show any interest in working for them. they get their vote for free Cock (chicken) and alcohol (alcohol). In schools, they were kept outside and not allowed to sit with others,” explains Dr Jha.

treat the root cause

To help these children, Dr. Jha started visiting the slums of the Musahar community living in the Dalit areas of the district. He decided to teach the children but found it difficult to stay at the place after noon.

“The men get drunk after 2 pm and walk idly by. It was challenging to persuade them to send their children to study. The only advantage I had was that people knew and respected me because of my profession. When we started teaching children, no one objected.”

Along with Makeshwar, the founder of a non-profit Holistic Service Institute, Dr. Jha began using part of his income and taking some time off to visit the community. Gradually, he hired some teachers from his own pocket to teach the children and involved them in sports, dance and debate events.

“We focused on cleanliness, education and employment. We started receiving donations from individuals and our peers to distribute food items, clothes, books etc. Seeing this more and more children got inspired and started joining the classes. These were all small steps, but the result was big,” says Dr. Jha, who is also a senior advisor to the non-profit.

Today, about 5,000 children are associated with 85 centers (called Community Culture Education Centers), where 82 volunteers give basic education to children so that they can be at par with their peers in schools. Since the initiative began in 2007, more than 5,000 children have been enrolled in the schools. Currently there are around 3,000 children studying in centers across Jamui.

“Once they are educated, they will be empowered to come out of a life of drudgery. read dog then all diseases will go away (Once you teach children, they will get rid of all the ills of poverty). Communities that did not know the importance of education are now seeing graduates in their midst. As a secondary benefit, girls have started resisting early marriage, children are leaving wage jobs and have started entering the mainstream,” he says.

For his work, Dr Jha was awarded the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Education Award, Bihar’s highest award in the field of education, by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in 2021.

“I grew up playing with kids irrespective of caste or community. My parents always taught me how to live harmoniously with all communities. It is satisfying to do something for this (Mushar) community, though I never thought it would have such a big impact. With the award, I got more recognition and support from peers, even from abroad. I will continue this work for the remaining years of my life,” he says.

,Moderated by Pranita Bhat, All picture credits: Makeshwar, Samagra Seva Sansthan,

Source:

National Family Health Survey-5 by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Services.

Child Marriage in Bihar: Highlights of NFHS-5 (2019-21) Published in June 2022 by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Study on Musahar Community of Bihar by AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies, Patna.