‘Women RISE UP against Child Marriage’ is a community-owned advocacy initiative led by the Cluster Level Federation (CLF) women leaders. These women leaders are supported to activate and make the Block Level Child Protection Committee (BLCPC) more responsive towards the need for systemic support to ensure girls are able to sustain their life aspirations for education and career and thus delay their age at marriage (beyond 18 years).

This project is being piloted in Nala block of Jamtara district across 6 CLFs and is expected to promote retention of girls in schools at least till the 12th standard and reduce the occurrence of child marriages. This project is nested within PCI India’s ongoing Umang project in Nala block. The principle of community ownership as the basis of this project will ensure sustained efforts by women in the communities to raise their voice to improve the lives of adolescent girls in their communities. As a result of this intervention, two women leaders from the Cluster Level Federations (CLFs) shall regularly participate in the BLCPC meetings to advocate for the addressal of issues concerning girl’s higher education and early/forced marriages. Subsequently, Nala block CLF leaders will advocate with District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) to adopt and scale up the model in all the remaining five blocks of the district of Jamtara by May 2022. This effort is supported by the Cummins Foundation and RISE UP.