Phulbani: In a remarkable display of courage, a minor girl from Odisha’s Kandhamal district successfully intervened to halt her own forced marriage to an older man.
The incident took place under Phiringia police limits where the minor, a meritorious student determined to pursue her education, rejected her parents’ attempts to marry her off. Facing immense pressure from her family, she took matters into her own hands to save her future.
According to Shib Shankar Behera, a member of the Phulbani Child Helpline, the girl dialled the national child helpline number (1098) to seek urgent protection. She informed the authorities that her parents were forcing her into a marriage with a much older man against her will.
In a bid to escape the situation, she had fled to a relative’s house under Sarangagarh police limits. However, preparations to conduct the marriage ceremony there, prompting her to make the desperate call for rescue.
Upon receiving the alert, members of the Child Helpline, alongwith personnel from Sarangagarh police station, immediately raided the location and rescued the girl. She was initially taken to a local One-Stop Centre for safe shelter and counselling, and has since been handed over to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) for further rehabilitation. “She is a scholar student. She opposed her marriage and went from Phulbani to seek refuge at a distant aunt’s home. When she felt unsafe there as well, she called the Child Helpline number, 1098,” Behera added..
