Payal Jangid from Alwar district became the first Indian to receive the Changemaker Award.

JAIPUR: Seventeen-year-old Payal Jangid from Alwar district became the first Indian to receive the ‘ Changemaker Award ’ at the Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards 2019 in New York on Wednesday for her contribution in abolishing the practice of child marriage in her native Hinsla and other neighbouring villages. PM Narendra Modi, too, was awarded at the same ceremony by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

A tireless crusader since childhood, Payal herself refused to get married at the age of 11 and eventually managed to convince everyone in the village about the evils of the social practice rampant in Rajasthan , her parents told TOI.

She is also the sarpanch (president) of the Bal Panchayat (children’s parliament) in Hinsla, which is a Bal Mitra Gram (child-friendly village) — a concept founded by Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi.“I am grateful to everyone who supported me in this cause. This is just the beginning. I want to eradicate child marriage and labour from across the globe,” Payal said after receiving the award. She was also one of the child activists selected to meet former US president Barrack Obama and his wife, Michelle, when they visited India in 2015.

Now in her first year of graduation, Payal has always been inclined towards this cause. Her father Pappuram Jangid told TOI: “We are extremely proud of what our daughter has achieved at this young age. Since childhood, she would speak against child marriage and even when we tried getting her married at the age of 11, she refused.”

The young activist took up the task of advocating against the social evil and would take her mother along when she went to talk to the villagers. “She and her mother would go from door-to-door and make the villagers understand how child marriages ruin lives. Even we got married when we were children and she made us realise how adversely the same affected our lives,” Pappuram added.

Global recognition is just the beginning for the young crusader, who will continue following this path, said her father. About Payal’s future plans, he said, “We wanted our older daughter, who is above 18, and Payal to get married at the same time. But when we spoke to her about it recently, she said we should tell her these things unless she is an adult. She is passionate about her work and wants to become a teacher.”

Many eminent personalities, including Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, former CM Vasundhara Raje, Kailash Satyarthi and BJP MP Diya Kumari tweeted congratulatory messages for Payal, who is likely to return to India by the end of this month.

