A 17-year-old activist from India is fighting child marriage, which almost broke her life

17-year—old Payal Jangid is India's most famous fighter against child marriage. Her position is not just a desire to rid her homeland of a barbaric custom, but also a life position associated with her own bitter experience. Payal herself was almost married off by her relatives at the age of 11, and only the actions of activists prevented the girl from breaking her life.

Young activist Payal Jangid last week was awarded the Gates Foundation Goalkeepers Awards in the "nomination" Changemaker Award, which is also called the Converter Award. Its activities are aimed at combating the wild medieval custom of child marriages, which are still concluded by thousands every year in different states of India.

Jangid and her sister also tried to marry off their parents, as was customary in their village. The girl was only 11 years old when she found out that she was going to get married soon. Payal, despite her young age, found the courage to go against the will of her family and turned to local activists.

The Bal Ashram Center was founded in 1998 by a group of activists of the Save the Childhood movement. The main task of the center is educational activities among the population and rehabilitation of children and adolescents affected by prejudice and customs.

After Dzhangid was convinced by her own example that a child can be the master of her fate, despite the will of her elders, she decided to devote her life to helping other girls who faced a similar problem.

In rural areas of India, such as Payal's native Hinsla, local residents do not have the opportunity to get an education. Therefore, here they blindly follow the customs that remained from their ancestors. There are a lot of them, but one of the most dangerous are child marriages.

The activist is currently busy traveling with lectures in rural areas of the country and telling people about their rights. Payal also conducts protest actions of women and children, which are aimed at drawing the attention of the authorities to a problem that is shamefully hushed up. She claims that women and girls, having had the opportunity to publicly express their opinions, feel more confident and safe in their native village.