A 16-year old girl went against the entire community to stop her marriage

She was beaten up by her family. But she did not deviate from her decision and approached an NGO for help. 

If you want to see the power of education, this is the story you must read. A 16-year old girl went against her entire family and community when they tried to get her married. She knew it was illegal, she knew the law would support her, all because she was educated.

Photo for representation purpose only. Courtesy: www.girlsnotbrides.org

Mukti (name changed) from a village near Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra had just cleared her eighth class from a residential school far from home. When she went back home on vacation, she was shocked to know that her marriage had been fixed and the ceremony was due in the next five days.

She was beaten up by her father when she showed discontent, but she didn’t give up and stood by her thoughts. She wanted to study and get a good job. Marriage at such young age was not on her mind.

Photo for representation purpose only. Courtesy: blog.childfund.org

When nothing seemed to work, she managed to send a text message to Tara Mobile Creche (TMC), a centre that provides education, health and safety to  migrant construction workers’ children. She had been going to the centre since she was two. They had also helped her in getting admission in a residential school.

After seeing the message, TMC came to her rescue and informed other NGOs like Childline and Snehalata. They even informed the local police station.

When questioned, Mukti clearly stood for what she believed in and told the police that she wanted to study further and get a job.

She wished to stay with the TMC team. After getting an affidavit from the parents, Mukti was allowed to go with TMC. And this was all possible because of the courage Mukti showed. Had she not gone against her family and showed enough courage to speak the truth out loud, no organization would have been able to help her.

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