Bhopal: 17-year-old fights to have her child marriage annulled

BHOPAL: “Sold” into marriage for Rs 50,000 as a 15-year-old two years ago, a minor has approached Childline in Bhopal to get her wedding annulled so that she can pursue her education freely.The man she was forcibly married to is 20 years older, does drugs, ill-treats her and threatens to kill her and her family members unless she moves back with him, she told TOI. She now lives with her mother and younger brother and works at a showroom to help her at home and save money for her education. Her cry for help has been forwarded to the district Child Marriage Prevention Office and Child Welfare Committee (CWC).“According to her Class 10 marksheet, she is now 17-and-a-half-years old. She came to us on Friday, and told us that she wanted to be free of her child marriage that she was forced into two years ago,” said Archana Sahaye, director of City Childline, Bhopal.After the death of her father, her mother remarried but stepfather didn’t treat the child well, said Sahaye. “He gave her away in ‘marriage’ to a 35-year-old man. She could not resist back then as she was just 15 and under tremendous pressure,” she added. The girl left her in-laws’ and moved back with her mother soon after marriage.“My stepfather got me married to a truck-driver From Guna in 2018 in exchange for Rs 50,000. He is quite well off and boasts that no one can harm him as he can bribe anyone and get out of police cases. When I refused to go back to him, he threatened to murder me and my family. My mother and brothers have received death threats too. He said he will have me kidnapped if I didn’t go back to him,” the survivor told TOI.“Under pressure, I stayed with him for three days at first, and then for four days. The last time was on Diwali when his family members lied to me and forced me to go with them. I stayed there for eight days, during which I was subjected to domestic violence and the whole family used to treat me badly. They took away my phone and didn’t let me speak to my mother. It was then that I decided to seek help and came back home after a very bad episode of domestic violence,” she said.She says she couldn’t appear for her board exams in 2018 because she was forced into the wedding. “I took the Class 10 exams this year and have passed with decent marks. I want to go for higher studies and get a nice job so that I can support my family,” she told TOI