Jaipur: Girl defies child marriage, faces fatwa

Father was told to send her to in-laws or pay Rs 9 lakh as fine.

A girl’s defiance of caste panchayat is proving costly to her family. The brave girl who refused to recognise her childhood marriage has sought district collector’s help as the caste panchayat has issued diktat that either she go to her in laws’ place else her family must pay Rs 9 lakh as penalty.

“I cried a lot but my parents convinced me that they were not sending me. About two years back, my in-laws started building pressure on my parents to send me with them but the matter lingered on,” she said while refusing to accept the marriage. “I didn’t even know at that time what marriage meant,” she said.

She was married to Madhuram of Kheda Salvan Kalan in 2007 during mausar (death custom) of her aunt. Last month, about 50 elderly people of the caste came to her house and told her father that either send the girl to her in laws or pay the penalty of Rs nine lakh failure to which the family would be ostracised.

The father told them that she wanted to study to which her in laws said that what would she do by studying as she has to work in fields only. On hearing this father refused to send her, she said.

Requesting the collector for action against the caste panchayat and bind her in laws not to pressurise her family for the gauna (Bride sent to her in laws place).

She also has filed papers for the annulment of her marriage with the help of a voluntary organization Vikalp, which has made arrangements for her stay in Udaipur in order to keep her away from the threats and pressures from in-laws and panchayat.

The girl has recently appeared for senior secondary examination and has also written papers for BSTC. \"I want to pursue studies further and want to become a teacher,\" she said.