The girl who sabotaged her own wedding

On the morning of any wedding there’s a lot of preparation. On 4 November, Monika’s hair needed doing and her make-up had to be artfully applied. The bride needed her maroon wedding sari put on, as tradition dictated.

The jewellery set aside for this special day had to be placed on her ears and nose and draped across her neck. For this Indian wedding, her hands needed to be daubed with intricate swirls of henna too.

There was so much to do. But with only a few hours to go until the ceremony, no-one noticed as the bride herself quietly slipped into the shadows of the family home to make one last phone call.

It was not to a friend, or a caterer, or the wedding venue to check everything was going smoothly.

Instead, nervously, Monika dialled four digits - 1098 - the number of a helpline. Too young to marry under Indian law, Monika wanted to stop her own wedding.


Source : bbc