Balika Vadhu Samta, who got married at the innocent age of just two-and-a-half years, finally at the age of 21, got rid of the bondage of child marriage and hopes that she will soon be able to fulfil her dream of becoming a teacher. Family court No. 2 of Jodhpur has annulled her marriage recently.
Samta is a daughter of a daily wager resident of Tinwari tehsil in Jodhpur and got married in 2003 to a young man from Osian tehsil. At the time of marriage, Samta was only two and a half years old.
A few years ago, the in-laws of Samta constantly pressured her for the ceremony of Gauna (consummation of marriage). Samata, who wants to become a teacher, was pursuing her degree of Bachelor of Education (B.Ed).
With the help of her friend Rekha, she came in contact with Dr Krit Bharti of Saarthi Trust who helped her move a petition in the Jodhpur Family Court seeking annulment of her child marriage.
Dr Bharti said, "it was difficult but we counselled the husband to get the child marriage annulled by consent and it worked with some efforts. We argued the case in the family court and produced evidence of child marriage. On which Judge Pradeep Kumar Modi ordered to annul the child marriage of Samta."
The judge in his order said that child marriage spoils both the present and future of innocent children. "Together, we have to eradicate child marriage and preserve childhood," he added.
