Kolkata: A 10-year-old girl in West Bengal stood up against the collective might of her family to stop her marriage and moved on with a pledge to study and be self-reliant.
The parents of Kakali had fixed her marriage for Saturday, but the girl boldly told them that she wanted to continue with her studies. She took the help of the local administration and social organisations to prevent her marriage, local reports said Saturday.
"My aunt had arranged my marriage with the consent of my parents. I told them I don't want to get married. I want to study," said Kakali, a Class 5 student of Naraharipur Sadacharan High School in North 24-Parganas, some 100 km from here.
When Kakali learned that her father, Nepal Debnath, was arranging her marriage, she expressed her unwillingness and stopped eating.
But her parents did not pay any heed and continued with the arrangements for the wedding for April 27.
Finding no other way, Kakali informed her neighbours and then approached the district administration. She urged the panchayat (village council) and some social bodies to save her. The district administration intervened.
Joint block development officer of Boangaon, Subhodip Goswami, along with panchayat head Santosh Das, stopped the marriage with police help. The girl's parents were interrogated.
The panchayat head has promised to take up the responsibility of Kakali's education. And the head of the local school, Abu Bakar Mondal, vowed to launch a campaign against child marriage.
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