My father said he did not have money to support my schooling. I then discovered that he had already received 20 cows as dowry for me. My mother tried to reason with my father to allow me continue with school, but my father said I had to marry. He said, “Once dowry has been taken, it cannot be returned.
My father became very angry and started beating me and my mother. He chased us away, and we sought refuge at my father’s sister’s home. My mother went back home but I remained. But I had no way out and eventually got married because my father had already accepted dowry for me.
As told to researchers for Human Rights Watch
