Legal loopholes, cultural mores make annulment of child marriage arduous

Some activists say that the key to rooting out child marriage is not to treat it as a crime and punish it, but as a social illness that needs to be cured

The call came at 3 am. “I was married against my wishes five years ago when I was 12,” said a scared voice. “Now my family is forcing me to go to my marital home…”

The voice belonged to Susheela and she said she would run away if she wasn’t rescued. Dr Kriti Bharti of Jodhpur-based NGO, Saarthi Trust, immediately set off for Barmer where the girl lived. It took over a year to annul her marriage, during which time her family disowned her.  “Since that first night when I saw her hiding behind a tree in Barmer, Susheela has