What is special about Payal Jangid?

Children are considered innocent and playful, obvious of the evil around them. But today, these same innocent children are standing up to speak against the menaces that plague society at large.

Payal takes a stand

Payal Jangid from Hinsla, Rajasthan, was only 11 when she almost fell victim to child marriage. At an age when her parents should have placed a book in her hands and encouraged her to study, they planned to get her married.

But Payal decided to put up a fight – she refused to be one among the many little girls who are married off at a tender age. She contacted local activists in the village and shared her plight with them. They, in turn contacted Sumedha Kailash, the founder of the Bal Ashram Trust, a rehabilitation and training centre for the Save the Childhood Movement (Bachpan Bachao Andolan)

With her encouragement and support, Payal protested and raised hr voice against her family’s decision. Eventually, her parents relented and her marriage was called off.

But not everyone is this lucky. Several girls in rural India are trapped in the web of child marriage, and Payal wanted to put a stop to this.

A voice for others

Local activists spoke to Payal and other children about the plight of their peers. They also introduced them to the concept of a bal panchayat or child parliament in which local kids are elected to a village council.

Payal was chosen as the president of her village’s child parliament, and she decided to work with the local people and the panchayat to make Hinsla at Bal Mitra Gram (a village where children are withdrawn from labour units and sent to schools) and eradicate child marriage.

She also began organizing rallies and protests with the women and children in the village, providing them a platform to voice their concerns and opinions.

Payal educated people not just about social evils such as child marriage and child labour, but also about the importance of sending children to school.

Her efforts bore fruit when her village was declared a Bal Mitra Gram. Eventually, Payal and her bal panchayat also put end to child marriage in Hinsla.

For her activism, Payal was chosen as a member of the jury for the World’s Children’s Prize in 2013, received the Young Achiever Award by Reebok, and won the Changemaker Award at the annual Goalkeepers Awards by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and UNICEF in 2019.

Payal continues to work for children’s rights.

What makes her special?

Payal raised her voice for her rights and those of others around her. She worked with activists to uplift her village, and as a result, Hinsla is today a child-friendly village and rid of the evil of child marriage.

 

Picture Credit : Google