Chennai: The dreams of Sudha, a 13-year-old class 9 student, of becoming a doctor to serve the poor, were shattered when her mother decided to abruptly pull her out of school and marry her of to her maternal uncle.
Life was normal for the girl until she came home at Kannagi Nagar for summer vacation in May this year. She was studying in a school in Chetpet and stayed in a hostel. “I am a good
student. I used to get second or third rank in class,” she told DC.
She was living with her mother, a daily wage earner, after her father died due to prolonged illness. “I have seen people suffering due to illness. Hence, I want to become a doctor to serve the poor," she said. Her father’s death made them to move out of their hometown Madurantakam to Kannagi Nagar.
But to Sudha’s surprise, her mother arranged the wedding for her with her maternal uncle aged 37 and physically challenged, during the summer vacation. “The wedding was held secretly. We came to know when Sudha told her classmate about it. Her friend in turn alerted Childline after which we rescued her in June and kept her in a government home,” said a Kancheepuram district official. The official said Sudha’s mother cited difficulty to ensure the girl's security and poverty.
The child who always cherished the dreams of becoming a doctor refused to go to school after the wedding, the official said. “It took a couple of months to convince her to make her go to school again. We also arranged counselling for her,” the official said.
Sudha told DC that after attending a counselling session at Chengalpattu, she wants to pursue her schooling to become a doctor. She will join a school again shortly.
(The victim’s name has been changed to protect her identity)
