In a cluster of villages in rural Bangalore, child marriages are robbing young girls of the right to college education. B S Narayanaswamy and N K Suprabha investigate
Young Kavya’s life would have been very different had she not stood her ground when it really mattered. A year back, when she was only 15, her parents, upper caste and middle class, asked her to brace herself up for a 'bride show' in her school. Kavya refused. All hell broke loose at home. But the girl did not budge. However, her classmate in Uyyamballi high school, Deepu, like many others, could not resist family pressure.
Today, Deepu is married to a boy of her own caste while Kavya goes to college to pursue higher studies. She is determined to make her mark in life and the Pre-University College in Dodda Alahalli village of Kanakapura taluk, 60 km from Bangalore, is helping her prepare for a higher purpose.
“That was the most horrible moment of my life,” says Kavya, recalling the day she had to take on her parents. “It is common for girls here to be married off before they can enter college. Deepu got married when she was a 10th standard student. But I was very clear about my future.”
Unfortunately, in this part of Karnataka, the likes of Deepu constitute an overwhelming majority and gutsy girls like Kavya are a rarity. In the last five years, over 1,000 arranged child marriages have taken place in Kanakapura. School premises are openly used as a setting by prospective bridegrooms to check out their future brides.
“Most of the girls get engaged in 10th standard and they get married as soon as they finish their exams. Every year we receive plenty of such wedding invitations from our students,” says Jyothi, headmistress of Dodda Alahalli high school.
Girls get pushed into matrimony before they are ready to make up their own minds. Parents use every emotional ruse in the book to have their way. They evoke the issue of family honour to browbeat young girls into submission. They are actually desperate to prevent inter-caste marriages, the possibility of which increases once a girl gets into college and mixes with students of the opposite sex with relative freedom.
In high schools, girls are often pulled out of a classroom when a bridegroom comes calling. Says Anil Gummanahalli, physical training teacher at Uyyamballi high school: “Sometimes a groom visits a girl’s house without a prior appointment. So the girl’s parents come to the school along with the groom. I myself have sent many girl students from an ongoing class for this kind of vadhu pariksha. It's quite commonplace.”
Elagahalli high school headmaster Shivarudrappa also confirms that many such vadhu parikshas have occurred in nearby schools in recent times. While these bride shows happen under the very nose of the law, the law-keepers are either blissfully unaware about the social menace or are simply inacapable of taking action against the wrongdoers under the law.
Young Kavya’s life would have been very different had she not stood her ground when it really mattered. A year back, when she was only 15, her parents, upper caste and middle class, asked her to brace herself up for a 'bride show' in her school. Kavya refused. All hell broke loose at home. But the girl did not budge. However, her classmate in Uyyamballi high school, Deepu, like many others, could not resist family pressure.
Today, Deepu is married to a boy of her own caste while Kavya goes to college to pursue higher studies. She is determined to make her mark in life and the Pre-University College in Dodda Alahalli village of Kanakapura taluk, 60 km from Bangalore, is helping her prepare for a higher purpose.
“That was the most horrible moment of my life,” says Kavya, recalling the day she had to take on her parents. “It is common for girls here to be married off before they can enter college. Deepu got married when she was a 10th standard student. But I was very clear about my future.”
Unfortunately, in this part of Karnataka, the likes of Deepu constitute an overwhelming majority and gutsy girls like Kavya are a rarity. In the last five years, over 1,000 arranged child marriages have taken place in Kanakapura. School premises are openly used as a setting by prospective bridegrooms to check out their future brides.
“Most of the girls get engaged in 10th standard and they get married as soon as they finish their exams. Every year we receive plenty of such wedding invitations from our students,” says Jyothi, headmistress of Dodda Alahalli high school.
Girls get pushed into matrimony before they are ready to make up their own minds. Parents use every emotional ruse in the book to have their way. They evoke the issue of family honour to browbeat young girls into submission. They are actually desperate to prevent inter-caste marriages, the possibility of which increases once a girl gets into college and mixes with students of the opposite sex with relative freedom.
In high schools, girls are often pulled out of a classroom when a bridegroom comes calling. Says Anil Gummanahalli, physical training teacher at Uyyamballi high school: “Sometimes a groom visits a girl’s house without a prior appointment. So the girl’s parents come to the school along with the groom. I myself have sent many girl students from an ongoing class for this kind of vadhu pariksha. It's quite commonplace.”
Elagahalli high school headmaster Shivarudrappa also confirms that many such vadhu parikshas have occurred in nearby schools in recent times. While these bride shows happen under the very nose of the law, the law-keepers are either blissfully unaware about the social menace or are simply inacapable of taking action against the wrongdoers under the law.
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