The interviews and reporting for this story were conducted in 2024.

The National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5 reports that every two in five women aged 20-24 in Bihar were married before reaching the legal minimum age of 18 years. But what are the real consequences for girls who are married off at such a young age?

“They are traumatised for life,” says Roshni Perween, a victim of child marriage herself.

Hailing from a small village of Simalbari of Kishanganj, Roshni was leading a regular life until she reached class nine.

“Suddenly, my parents started getting a lot of marriage proposals for me. I had my whole future in front of me. I had not even completed my board exams. Despite a lot of opposition, I was married off,” she recalls.

Upon reaching her new home, Roshni discovered that her husband was 45 years old — three times her age! “I was very young and knew nothing about life after marriage. My husband forced himself on me and I was shocked to my core,” she adds.

After three months, Roshni ran away and returned to her parents’ home. “Some time later, I found out that I was pregnant with his child. A few months later, I gave birth to my son. I was not ready to go back to that hell, but I was forced to return to his house. When I went back, my husband did not accept me, as I had been away for a year,” she shares.

Despite facing unimaginable challenges and hardships, including rejection by her own family and societal stigma, Roshni refused to succumb to despair. She bravely walked away from an abusive marriage. At 15, with the responsibility of raising a newborn, she started working at a showroom, determined to create a better future for herself and her son.

Now 24, Roshni has become a beacon of hope for rural girls in Bihar. Driven by her harrowing challenges and personal struggles, she has dedicated herself to rescuing girls from the clutches of trafficking and preventing child marriages in her community.