In most parts of India, marriage is seen more of a burden for the bride’s family. Parents in areas of rural India pressurize girls as young as 10 years to tie the knot. Devoid of support from family and society, these girls find it extremely difficult to break free.
Amid these circumstances, the story of Rekha is heartening. At the age of 10, when her parents wanted to marry her off, she revolted. Rekha insisted she wanted to go to school. With the help of her elder sister and a school teacher, she succeeded in convincing her parents to complete her studies and remain single atleast till she turns 18.
Her own mind had been shaped by a Unicef project, which had taught her about children’s rights, education and the dangers of early marriage.
“What is encouraging is that since Rekha’s revolt, in her village and surrounding villages there has not been a single child marriage,” said Prosenjit Kundu, assistant commissioner at the local government.
Today, raising her voice against child marriage, and supporting awareness projects, she has become a poster child for the wonderful work being done by UNICEF and other non-profits in raising awareness about the ill-effects of Child Marriage and preventing them.
Read more at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6168942.ece
Filed under: Children | Tagged: Child Marriage
Hey adarsh.. this comment is for your entire blog and effort… its mighty encouraging to see someone take up the larger cause.. kudos!
Hi Aparna, thank you so much for your comment!
According to one report the development index of a country is directly linked to the average age of women marriage. No wonder we have such a poor index. Marrying off girls at young age and removing them from productive input to the economy hurts the country and hurts them.
Sachin, unfortunately, that is the sad truth which people fail to understand. Thanks for stopping by!