Rajasthan Woman, Who Was Married Off At 8, Is On Her Way To Become A Doctor

Child marriage, sadly, is still a very common practice in small villages of Rajasthan. A daughter is still considered unlucky and a burden. Home to great women like Laxmi Bai, Kalpana Chawla, Indra Nooyi and Chanda Kochhar, some parts of India still discriminate a man from a woman.

To add to the list of great women of our country, here is the inspiring story of Rupa Yadav of Jaipur’s Kareri village.

Hindustan Times reported that Rupa was only 8 years old and studying in class 3 when she was married to a 12-year-old boy named Shankar. They had to tie the knot because Rupa’s elder sister was marrying Shankar’s elder brother.

Rupa always dreamt of becoming a doctor. Hailing from a small village, her dreams were only fading into oblivion, but her in-laws never let that happen.

 

Rupa moved to Shankar’s house before she could complete class 10. She passed in flying colours with 89%. Rupa’s eagerness to learn more was supported by her in-laws. As there were no schools in Shankar’s village, he got her admitted in a private school 6 kms away.

Rupa toiled very hard and scored 84%. After completing school, she completed BSc and then gave AIPMT to get a good college to learn medicine. But as her rank was 23,000, she didn’t secure a seat.

 

Someone wise suggested Rupa to go to Kota to clear her medical exams. Rupa feared if her in-laws would allow her to go so far, and how would they bear her expenses. Shankar’s family was already facing villagers’ wrath for letting a girl study so much. She says,

“The villagers would say, ‘She should be here to cook for the family and do household chores.’ But my husband had faith in me.”

She got a big nod from her very supportive family. To bear the expenses of her study, Shankar’s elder brother pitched in too. She adds,

“They began driving auto-rickshaws to fund my expenses.”

She appeared for NEET in 2016, but couldn’t clear it. The family couldn’t afford to coach her for another year in Kota. But then the coaching institute waived off 75% of her fees and they agreed.

 

After appearing for NEET in 2017, Rupa scored a national rank of 2,283. She is participating in counselling for a Govt. college in Rajasthan. 

Rising from a menace like child marriage, Rupa has set a wonderful example of what a woman can achieve if she gets some support to fight against the society. With her whole life ahead of her, Rupa will not only become a terrific doctor but will inspire countless other little girls like her to dream.

Every women deserves better. I hope Jaipur’s Kareri village takes cue from Rupa’s story and stops child marriages from happening.

H/T: Hindustan Times