Jaisalmer court annuls child marriage

Jaisalmer: The family court on Saturday annulled the child marriage of Meenakshi Bishnoi, who got married at the age of seven, and let her pursue studies.
The order was issued by judge Rekha Bhargav. The case came before the family court after 25-year-old Meenakshi had challenged her child marriage and written a letter to high court to interfere in the matter.

According to Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority deputy secretary Dheera Sharma, Meenakshi Bishnoi, d/o Nimbaram Bishnoi, resident of Nandari, Jodhpur, had written to the court to make her marriage to Bhuta Ram at the age of seven null and void. Last year, on April 23, the Jodhpur High Court ordered to provide legal aid to Meenakshi.

The case then came to family court, which annulled the child marriage.

Meenakshi was born in 1993 and married at seven. She is doing her BEd and wants to become a teacher. But her husband, an uneducated youth, wanted her back at his home. She then approached the court to annul the marriage. It's rare for a Bishnoi community girl to show such courage and break with antiquated traditions, sources said.

The girl's father, who has retired from the Indian Army, had to get her married due to the pressure from the community. The husband Bhuta Ram, s/o Buna Ram, is a resident of Vishnu Ki Dhani in Dangiyawas, Jodhpur.