Baby bride who wed at the age of one has 'marriage' annulled

An Indian woman who became a bride at the age of one has had her 'marriage' legally annulled in a ground-breaking legal case. Laxmi Sargara, now 18, wed husband Rakesh when he was three, in the desert state of Rajasthan in northwestern India after their parents decided they should eventually start a family. Although child marriages were officially outlawed in India in 1929, the practice is still common in many parts of the country, especially in poor rural communities. Sargara only discovered she was married a few days ago when she was told she would be sent to live in her husband’s home this week. She sought advice from a social worker who runs the children’s rights group Sarathi Trust She told the AFP news agency: 'I was unhappy about the marriage. 'I told my parents who did not agree with me, then I sought help. Now I am mentally relaxed and my family members are also with me.' A recent Unicef report says 47 per cent of married women in India wed before age 18 and that 40 percent of the world's child marriages take place in the country. Girls married in their infancy usually continue to live with their parents until they reach puberty at which point they are taken to their husband's family. Social worker Kriti Bharti negotiated with Rakesh on Sargara's behalf and managed to persuade the families that the marriage was unfair. She told AFP: 'It is the first example we know of a couple wed in childhood wanting the marriage to be annulled, and we hope that others take inspiration from it. Bride and groom signed a joint legal document to annul the marriage which was validated by a public official in the town of Jodhpur. Indu Chaupra, local director of the ministry of women and child development, said: 'To ensure that the girl does not face any problem in future, we decided to go for a legal agreement. A recent survey found that 10 per cent of girls in Rajasthan are married off before the age of 18.