My father remarried after my mother committed suicide when I was six years old. I have one step brother and step sister. I was studying in a government school.
When I was 13, my stepmother fixed an alliance with a 40-year-old man who had been married twice before. The first wife left him and the second died after giving birth to two children. He wanted a wife to take care of his children. I was not aware of these details. This alliance was finalised as he did not demand any dowry.
My school teacher came to know that my family wanted to marry me off when I was being taken home from school to meet the marriage party. He called Childline and told them about me. MVF also got to know about this through Childline and met my stepmother. She insisted that she would go ahead with the marriage as she could not take care of me. Childline also complained to the police station. My parents and the man whom I was to marry were summoned to the police station. My father and the man went but my stepmother did not go to the police station. The police booked a case against my stepmother under the Juvenile Justice Act for treating me with cruelty.
I came to know the details of this man, his age and previous marriages only there. I was shocked to hear his story and refused to marry him. I said I would rather remain unmarried than marry him. I was steadfast despite pressure from my parents.
On insistence of the police, I was given admission in KGBV Chevella, in Class IX. The KGBV teacher took care of my needs and I kept going to the MVF bridge course camp for my vacations.
My father ignored me and was completely influenced by his wife. One day my father visited me in KGBV to transfer the land that was in my name to my stepmother as he wanted to build their house. I mentioned this to the SI and he threatened them and settled the dispute, wherein my stepmother got two rooms in the house and I retained the land which was registered in my name.
I was sent home after my Class X examination and started to work. I failed in a subject but my stepmother forced me to work and did not allow me to take the supplementary exam. MVF staff placed a call to my parents saying they were calling from the Collector’s office and it had come to their notice that I was not being allowed to take the exam. My father immediately allowed me to take the exam. I attended the special coaching classes held by KGBV for students who have failed. I had only four to five days to prepare for my examination. I passed the exam and am now studying first year intermediate. If my marriage had not been stopped what would have happened to me? All this was possible only because of MVF’s intervention.
The entire support for this case came from Childline and the police. The anganwadi worker and the CDPO said that they had no idea about this case.
Narrative provided by M Venkatarangaiya Foundation in their report ‘…and they never lived happily ever after. The battle for justice goes on: Voices of married girls in Telangana’
