Jodhpur Court annulled child marriage of 2 Balika Vadhu

In Rajasthan, two  jodhpur based child brides, Pooja and Sheela, who were caught in the clutches of child marriage at an innocent age, finally got freedom from the curse of child marriage  Family Court No. 3 Judge Shankarlal Maru on Monday delivered a historic verdict of annulment of child marriage of Balika Vadhu Puja and Sheela after which Pooja and Sheela's tears of happiness spilled out. According to  Dr. Kriti Bharti of Saarthi Trust,the child marriage of about twenty year old Pooja Jandu, the daughter of the driver, was done at the age of just 12 in the year 2014 under the pressure of the community. Due to child marriage, Pooja has seen shattering her dreams of grooming her future. For about 8 years, Pooja suffered the burnt of child marriage. During this, pressure was constantly being made from the caste panches and others to get the Gauna done. She and her family had faced many threats. Pooja has done BA. Even while going to college, fear was always there. Due to this, she could not go to college regularly. Dr Kriti Bharti filed a case for annulment of Pooja's child marriage in the family court of Jodhpur. Even after filing the suit, the people of the community maintained pressure.

16-year-old Sheela (name changed), daughter of a daily laborer, was married at the tender age of 7 years. After child marriage, there was a lot of pressure from the community on Sheela and her family members.  Sheela  filed a case of annulment of child marriage in the family court, Dr Bharti said. After long hearing, Judge Shankarlal Maru of Family Court No. 3 gave a historic judgment to annul the child marriage of Pooja which was done at the age of just 12 years and the child marriage of the Child bride Sheela which was solemnized at the age of 7 years. After the annulment of the child marriage of Pooja and Sheela, now efforts are being made for their  better rehabilitation. Efforts are being done towards fulfilling the dreams of Pooja and Sheela.

Saarthi Trust had annulled the first child marriage of the country. The Saarthi Trust has so far annulled 43 pairs of child marriages. At the same time there are more than 1500 child marriage stops. In 2015, Dr. Kriti Bharti campaign of child marriage annulment has been recorded into several World Records. CBSE also included Saarthi's campaign in the Class 11 syllabus. Dr. Kriti Bharti has been included into the World Top Ten Activist List of Taffd Magazine, List of 100 Influential Women of BBC, Marwar and Mewar Ratna and other national and international honors for saving the children and women from exploitation.

(Story is based on facts given by the Saarthi Trust)