A 17-year-old from Murshidabad who had severed ties with her family when they tried to marry her off in Class VIII has become a prominent voice against child marriage and helped save seven girls like her from forced matrimony.

Sumi Khatoon, who was barely in her teens when her parents decided she should get married, found support from her grandmother and some of her teachers and neighbours. She has since been living with her grandmother in Sampara village, continuing her education and emerging as a woman of substance.

Sumi, now in Class XI, works with a local NGO that watches over girls being forced to quit studies and get married early. “Whenever we hear of such incidents, we approach the local administration and the police so that we can intervene and stop such marriages,” she said on Tuesday after being conferred a bravery award.

Sumi was among 26 girls and boys who received Birangana and Birpurush awards at an International Child Rights Day programme organised at the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre in Salt Lake.

One of the awards instituted by the West Bengal State Commission for Protection of Child Rights and the department of women and child development and social welfare went to Priyanka Singha Roy, whose training in taekwondo has given her the strength and courage to stand up for herself and others.

Priyanka, 17, was once stalked by a group of youths in a Sainthia neighbourhood and, like many women in similar situations, had her hand pulled by one of them. She fought them off alone, packing a punch that she believes would prevent them from targeting a woman again.

Several other stories of grit in the face of adversity and selflessness were acknowledged at the event. One of those brave faces was Rumpa Pramanik, who risked her life to save a toddler a couple of months ago.

Rumpa, a Class XI student at Sarisha Kunarpur Anchal High School in Narayanpur block of West Midnapore, was in a classroom when she looked out and spotted a toddler playing by a pond.

The teenager first thought the boy was accompanied by an adult but became suspicious when she saw him reach the edge of the pond without anybody stopping him. “I excused myself from the class and ran out. By then, the boy was almost in the water. I had never swum in a sari, but I jumped in without giving it a thought. My only concern then was to save the child. I am glad I was able to do so,” Rumpa said.

Ayantika Pramanik, Indrani Das, Tanushree Prasad and Poulomi Sinha, all students of Binodini Girls’ High School in south Calcutta, were felicitated for an act of courage like no other. This one involved running across the rail tracks at Dhakuria to shield one of their teachers from a mob that had earlier ransacked their institution.

Subho Mondal, Anil Singh and Rupa Baidya from Hooghly received awards for averting a potential train accident after noticing a crack on a rail track and grabbing the attention of a driver by waving a red piece of clothing.

The awards are meant to be not only a recognition of bravery but also an acknowledgement of the primacy of child rights. “It is important to encourage children because they have young minds that can be moulded very easily. If they see other children getting awards, they will themselves feel inspired,” said Ananya Chatterjee Chakraborti, chairperson of the West Bengal State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.

Sanghamitra Ghosh, the secretary of the department of women and child development and social welfare, told the audience of mostly schoolchildren that students needed to be aware of their rights. “The government and the commission is working to protect child rights, but you have to remember that self-help is the best help. You cannot forget that nothing is more powerful than your ability to stand for yourself.”

The commission also gave away awards to police personnel, NGOs and childcare institutions for rescuing children and women from traffickers.

According to Chakraborti, the commission needs stakeholders like the police, judiciary, NGOs and civil society to help out in its mission. “In Bengal, there are approximately 3.3 crore children below the age of 18 and that is the magnitude of the challenge we face,” she said.

Priyanka Singha Roy demonstrates a high kick before receiving her bravery award at the International Child Rights Day event on Tuesday. Sanjoy Chattopadhyaya