Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Congrats for Laxmi!

Okay, so I think most people know that child-marriages still happen in some parts of the world. You hear about it in Saudi Arabia, which has no age minimum for marriage, India, and even some poor African villages. It's part of a culture, but like most traditions, it's being challenged.
Laxmi Sargara, 18, and her husband, Rakesh, 20, have the distinction of the being the first legally-married childhood couple of annul their marriage in India! Recently, Laxmi was informed of her marriage, which took place when she was 1, and that she would have to move in with her husband within the week. Unhappy about the predicament, Laxmi got a hold of social worker Kriti Bharti, who helped her take the steps of annulling her unwanted marriage. Bharti got in touch with Rakesh, who originally planned to go ahead with the marriage, but changed his mind and agreed to annul it.
Laxmi has taken the steps to choosing her own future, even with this long-standing tradition and culture standing in her way, and succeeded in her fight for her independence. She is among the first to reach out to change her life, and hopefully by her example, she won't be the last. Way to go, Laxmi! May all of your dreams come true!

You can read more here.

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