Arti’s Story
17 year old Arti Kumari lived with her 2 younger brothers and parents in Gandhinagar, a small village in Jharkhand, where the only source of livelihood is coal mining. There are times when, due to various regulatory suspensions on these mines, the people struggle to earn a living.
As the pandemic struck, the situation got worse for the families. Schools shut down during the lockdown and Arti’s parents thought of this as the best time to get her married as they would save a lot of money on the celebrations due to government restrictions on social gatherings.
As soon as the project team got to know of Arti’s situation, they immediately intervened. Arti explained that she was being forced into marriage and expressed her great desire to complete her studies. The team counselled her parents about the harm they would be doing to Arti’s future by marrying her off so early. They realised what they were doing and decided to support Arti’s education and her dream to become an independent woman.
Today, Arti’s story has inspired many young girls to raise their voice against child marriage!