Jodhpur: Child bride breaks free, lights up path for others
Jodhpur (PTI): A woman here reclaimed her life through a court battle breaking a decade-long union that was solemnised when she was just 12, paving the way for others like her who lost their childhood to a regressive custom.
On Thursday, Judge Varun Talwar of Family Court annulled the marriage of Khushboo (name changed), observing that child marriage undermines both the present and future of children and called for a collective societal action to eliminate it.
The marriage, solemnised in 2016 when Khushboo was about 12 years old, was declared void under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.
Belonging to the Bishnoi community, Khushboo recalled being a schoolgoer and having little understanding of what was happening around her as community elders took the lead in arranging the marriage.
Decisions, she said, were largely driven by customs, leaving her parents with limited say. It was only as she grew older that the implications of the marriage became clear to her; that she had been bound in a relationship she neither chose nor fully comprehended.
The turning point came a few years later, when pressure from her in-laws to begin conjugal life bore down on her.
Distressed yet determined not to continue in the union, she approached the police and was subsequently connected with social activist Kriti Bharti of Sarathi Trust.
"They initially hesitated, but seeing my resolve and convinced by my elder sister, who herself had been married as a child, they agreed," Khushboo said.
With Bharti's assistance, Khushboo filed a petition in the family court around 18 months ago, seeking annulment.
During the hearings, she presented documents establishing her age at the time of marriage, maintaining that the union had been conducted without her consent.
Her in-laws claimed that the marriage had taken place after both parties were adults, but lost the case.
Bharti said getting the groom's side to agree to annulment was far from easy.
"Who would so easily want to relinquish their right to the bride. It is engraved in customs as well as ego, and taking such cases in hands means humiliation and abuse," the activist said.
Khushboo's case sheds light on the role of certain customs that perpetuate child marriage, a blight that persists despite legal curbs.
The ceremony, Bharti said, was linked to a ritual called mauser (Mrityubhoj), which takes place following a death in the family. A part of the ritual is marrying off multiple children in a communal gathering.
Activists say such occasions often prioritise tradition over legality, with families fearing social boycott if they resist.
Meanwhile, Khushboo, who had dropped out after class 7, has resumed her studies and is preparing for her secondary examinations through open schooling.
"It is also my elder sister's wish that I complete my education and become self-reliant," she said.
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As Hormuz Burns, US Marines Move Toward the Front
Imagine a narrow water route — just 33 kilometres wide at its tightest point — and picture one-fifth of the entire world's oil passing through it every single day. Tankers carrying fuel for your car, gas for your kitchen, energy for factories — all moving through this one bottleneck. Now imagine that route is nearly shut down. That is exactly what is happening today at the Strait of Hormuz, and the United States is rushing thousands of its most powerful soldiers and weapons to fix it.
The Pentagon — America's defence headquarters — has sent over 2,000 US Marines from San Diego on a warship called USS Boxer, heading straight towards the Middle East. At the same time, another group of 2,200 Marines aboard USS Tripoli is being moved from Okinawa, Japan, to the same region. These are not just ordinary soldiers on ships. Each group carries stealth fighter jets, heavy artillery guns, helicopter gunships, mobile rocket launchers, anti-ship missiles, and special systems to detect and destroy drones. Think of it like a floating army base — ready to fight the moment it arrives.
Why is all this happening? Because Iran has been attacking cargo ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz using drones and missiles. As a result, ship traffic through this crucial route has crashed by 95%. Thousands of cargo vessels are stuck, unable to move. The world's oil supply chain is bleeding. And President Donald Trump is furious.
For the past three weeks, American fighter jets and naval forces have been hammering Iran's missile storage sites, naval bases, and drone launch points. The US military claims it has already destroyed Iran's entire surface fleet of warships, all 11 of its submarines, and 44 boats used for laying sea mines — the kind of explosive devices hidden underwater that can blow up passing ships. That sounds impressive, but the problem is far from over.
Iran's elite military unit, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or IRGC, still has an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 small, fast-attack speedboats. Most of them are hidden deep inside underground tunnels and bunkers along Iran's southern coastline — places that are very difficult to bomb from the air. These small boats can quietly slip out at night, drop mines into the water, and disappear before anyone can stop them. American air attacks, including low-flying jets and Apache attack helicopters firing at these boats, have not been enough to fully stop this threat.
So now the Marines are being brought in for a different kind of mission. Some of them may be placed directly on commercial oil tankers to protect those ships — shooting down drones, jamming signals so drones lose direction, and defending the vessel from speedboat attacks. That idea alone tells you how serious the situation has become.
But there is a bigger and far more dangerous plan being discussed inside the White House — capturing Kharg Island. This small island, just 8 kilometres long and 4 kilometres wide, with a population of about 20,000 to 30,000 people, is Iran's main oil export point. If America takes control of it, Iran loses its biggest source of oil income. Last week, the US already carried out precision airstrikes on more than 90 military targets on the island, including its air defence systems, naval base, and mine-storage facilities.
However, military experts are warning that actually landing Marines on Kharg Island is a completely different — and far riskier — story. The island sits only 25 kilometres from Iran's mainland coast. That means Iranian missiles, drones, and speedboats can reach it within minutes of any US landing. The warships carrying the Marines would themselves be exposed to Iranian anti-ship missiles the moment they enter the area. As one former US defence official bluntly put it — even one missile getting through could cause catastrophic damage.
Protecting Marines on the island would require American fighter jets flying non-stop, day and night, continuously striking Iranian launch sites to prevent counterattacks. It would be an exhausting, costly, and never-ending operation.
The human cost is already visible. So far, 13 American soldiers and airmen have been killed, and more than 200 others have been wounded — most with serious head injuries caused by powerful blasts from Iran's counterattacks in nearby countries.
And what does the American public think? A recent survey found that around 65% of Americans believe Trump might send ground troops into Iran — but only 7% actually support that idea. In other words, most people sense where this is heading, but almost nobody wants a full ground war.
Trump called Iran's option of mining the Strait "a form of suicide" since it would also block Iran's own oil exports. He criticised NATO allies as "cowards" for not helping, then turned around and said America does not need anyone.
The Strait of Hormuz is 33 kilometres wide. The decision America makes next could shake the entire world.
(Girish Linganna is an award-winning science communicator and a Defence, Aerospace & Geopolitical Analyst. He is the Managing Director of ADD Engineering Components India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany.)
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or position of the publication, its editors, or its management. The publication is not responsible for the accuracy of any information, statements, or opinions presented in this piece.
