Child Bride Marriage Annulled In India In Groundbreaking Case

A child bride marriage in India has been annulled in a historic groundbreaking case that activists hope will challenge the tradition of child marriages.

Laxmi Sargara, 18, and her husband Rakesh, 20, have been married since she was one year old, in Rajasthan. On Tuesday (the same day as the Akshaya Tritiya festival, a traditional date of mass child weddings), the couple legally revoked the union in Jodhpur as a campaign against enforced child marriages.

Although child marriage is illegal in India, being outlawed in 1992, it still remains common in poor, rural communities where it is seen as improving the financial security of both families.

“I was unhappy about the marriage. I told my parents who did not agree with me, then I sought help,” Sargara told Agence France Presse. “Now I am mentally relaxed and my family members are also with me.”

Sargara sought help from social worker Kriti Bharti, who runs the Sarathi Trust in Jodhpur, a welfare organization that lobbies for children’s rights.

Bharti told Agence France Presse:

“Laxmi was married to Rakesh when she was as young as one-year-old. Now she is 18 and a few days back she was informed by her parents that she was married and she would have to go to her husband’s house.”

Bharti worked on Sargara’s behalf to negotiate with the groom and and both families to convince them the marriage was unfair and should be annulled.

“It is the first example we know of a couple wed in childhood wanting the marriage to be annulled, and we hope that others take inspiration from it,” Bharti added.

The video below shows more on the tradition of child marriages.

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