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Nitu and Suki (in pink) (not their real names), cook together in their kitchen in Jhaju village, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India on 4th October 2012. Now 18, Nitu was married off at age 10 to a boy of around the same age, but only went to live with her in-laws when she was 12, after she had finished studying up to class 6. The three sisters, aged 10, 12, and 15 were married off on the same day by their maternal grandfather while their father was hospitalized. She was abused by her young husband and in-laws so her father took her back after hearing that her husband, who works in a brick kiln, was an alcoholic and was doing drugs and crime. She had only spent a few days at her husband's house at that time. Her father (now out of the hospital) has said that she will only be allowed to return to her husband's house if he changes his ways but so far, the negotiations are still underway. Her sister, Suki, now age 20, was married off at age 12 but only went to live with her husband when she was 14. Her husband died three years after she moved in, leaving her with a daughter, now 6, and a son, now 4. She has no parents-in-laws and thus returned to her parents house after being widowed because her brother-in-law, who had become the head of the family after his brother's death, had refused to allow Suki to inherit her deceased husband's fair share of agriculture land. Although Suki's father wants her to remarry, she refuses to, hoping instead to be able to support her family through embroidery and tailoring work. The family also makes hand-loom cotton to subsidize their collective household income. Photo by Suzanne Lee for PLAN UK

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Suzanne Lee
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PLAN Child Marriage, Rajasthan, India
Nitu and Suki (in pink) (not their real names), cook together in their kitchen in Jhaju village, Bikaner, Rajasthan, India on 4th October 2012. Now 18, Nitu was married off at age 10 to a boy of around the same age, but only went to live with her in-laws when she was 12, after she had finished studying up to class 6. The three sisters, aged 10, 12, and 15 were married off on the same day by their maternal grandfather while their father was hospitalized. She was abused by her young husband and in-laws so her father took her back after hearing that her husband, who works in a brick kiln, was an alcoholic and was doing drugs and crime. She had only spent a few days at her husband's house at that time. Her father (now out of the hospital) has said that she will only be allowed to return to her husband's house if he changes his ways but so far, the negotiations are still underway. Her sister, Suki, now age 20, was married off at age 12 but only went to live with her husband when she was 14. Her husband died three years after she moved in, leaving her with a daughter, now 6, and a son, now 4. She has no parents-in-laws and thus returned to her parents house after being widowed because her brother-in-law, who had become the head of the family after his brother's death, had refused to allow Suki to inherit her deceased husband's fair share of agriculture land. Although Suki's father wants her to remarry, she refuses to, hoping instead to be able to support her family through embroidery and tailoring work. The family also makes hand-loom cotton to subsidize their collective household income. Photo by Suzanne Lee for PLAN UK