Bishnupriya Pradhan: Kandhamal’s Voice Against Child Marriage

Everyone in Kadhamal district of Odisha knows Bishnupriya Pradhan for being the voice that speaks out against child marriage. Hailing from a tribal community of Gressingia village she is the catalyst of change. But there was a long fraught personal battle before she could make her voice heard. And it was by no means an easy one.

She was only 18 when her family fixed her marriage much against her wishes. ‘I didn’t know anything about laws prohibiting child marriage. My dream of a sound education was enough to  give me the courage to oppose the marriage,” said Bishnupriya. 

She took every step that was within her reach such as approaching the local Anganwadi Karmi and ASHA didi to convince her parents about the ill-effects of child marriage. Many obstacles, social boycott and intervention of the police later, her marriage was stopped. She had to pay a heavy price like staying away from her village and wait for normalcy to return. However, this achievement on the personal front propelled and motivated her to spread awareness against child marriage in her surroundings. 

Bishnupriya has managed to stop more than 17 child marriages in her home district, which is no mean achievement. Being trained by Antaranga youth group of Kandhamal, she has now become a voice for all those children who are forced to get married at an early age. Despite advocacy, she moves from village to village in Kandhamal, talking to people with regard to the negative impact of child marriage and legal provisions against it. She also talks to children in the remotest villages of Kandhamal of the same. 

She has been conferred with the ‘Swami Vivekananda Youth Award, 2020 on National Youth Day of India for her courage, commitment and dedication towards the social evil of child marriage.