Despite In-Laws' Threats, Child Bride Moves Court To Annul Marriage

Jodhpur: Married off at the tender age of 6, Pintudevi suffered for 12 years before finally moving court to dissolve the child marriage.

The daughter of daily wager Sohanlal Bishnoi of Pithawas village here, she was married to a youth from Saran Nagar.

After filing an appeal to annul the child marriage in the family court here on Wednesday, Ms Pintudevi, now 18, said: "I was married off when I was just 6. Since my in-laws were involved in criminal activities, I was scared. There are other reasons also why I do not want to go to my in-laws' place."

Ms Pintudevi's in-laws threatened her and her family with social boycott if she went against the marriage.

With the help of Kriti Bharti, a rehabilitation psychologist and Managing Trustee of Saarthi Trust, Ms Pintudevi finally moved court.

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Judge PK Jain of the Family Court-1 registered the petition and issued notice to her husband and asked him to be present during the next hearing on June 22.

Ms Bharti, who has been running a child marriage annulment campaign, said after the marriage is annulled, action would be taken against the families.

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"Besides, efforts are being made for better rehabilitation of Ms Pintudevi who will be appearing for her Class 10 exams this year. She dropped out of school after completing class 9 education. We are making arrangements to ensure she studies and gets empowered," she said.