At the age of 11, Nandi Jhala got married not knowing her who her husband was. This was eight years ago, three years after she’d left her village school in the western part of Gujarat state at 8, after a couple of years of schooling, understanding nothing about pregnancy or reproductive and sexual health. Nandi is one of 40% of brides in the Indian state of Gujarat, who are under the age of 20.
Nandi explained how lucky she is that she has not had to have children yet: ‘I am only 19 and I know I should not have children until my body is capable of childbearing. Also, I want to plan my family, unlike my older sister who already has three children. I have conveyed this to my husband.’ She added that she understands other aspects of sexual health, noting ‘I know now how to maintain menstrual hygiene.’
Nandi has benefited from a government programme called Mamta Taruni (Adolescent Girls), which is run by the state government in conjunction with the Centre for Health Education Training and Awareness, an advocacy group based in Gujarat. The programme provides potentially life-saving information and services for out-of-school girls between 10 and 19 years old, covering all aspects of wellbeing from reproductive and sexual wellness to nutrition.
According to Pallavi Patel, director-in-charge of the Centre for Health Education Training and Awareness, ‘Health challenges can be overcome if adolescents are able to access information and services.’ The centre recently conducted a study to measure the impact of their intervention on 256 young women, finding that when out-of-school female teens were linked to related information and services, the percentage who were aware of HIV-AIDS, condoms and the importance of nutrition almost doubled.
The study also revealed that almost all of the women surveyed had knowledge of anaemia, compared to 73% from three years earlier, before the centre’s “sustained awareness” programme was implemented in 53 Gujarat villages. Over 56% of female teenagers in India are anaemic, which, according to the World Health Organisation, weakens your body’s ability to clot, and increases your risk of postpartum haemorrhage. This makes anaemia the biggest indirect cause of maternal mortality, and so increased awareness is vital.
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