Child Marriage Annulled In Landmark Case

Child Marriage Annulled In India

A child marriage has been annulled in a groundbreaking case in India.

Laxmi Sargara "married" her husband Rakesh when they were still 1 and 3 years old, respectively, after a decision from their parents.

Now that she turned 18, Sargara was expected to live with Rakesh, who uses only one name and is now 20 years old.

"Hearing this, she got depressed." said Kriti Bharti, a social worker whom Sargara asked advice from. "She did not like the boy and was not ready to go ahead with her parents' decision so she decided to refuse this marriage.

The social worker then went to Rakesh to convince him to annul the marriage.

"He told me the marriage had been conducted properly, she's my wife, I'm going to take her," Bharti said. "Then I told him that it was not a marriage, that the rituals are done by the parents, not by them, (and) they have not promised to each other all things that were in the ritual. Then he understood that this is not a marriage."

On Tuesday, the couple signed an official document confirming their marriage was annulled.

Child marriage is illegal in India and thus, the marriage wasn't annulled in the traditional sense of the word. However, it remains common in poor, rural communities in which it is seen as improving the financial security of both families.

Despite her strong stance on the matter, Sargara is too afraid to return to her village because of the reaction it may get from her community where child marriages are not only accepted, but expected as well.

With reports from CNN and  AFP