Hard to understand when will our country get over the tradition of child marriages. Despite a great many laws existing which deny early marriages of girls, many rural parts in the country violate these rules and still continue this nonsensical practice.
Rajasthan is one of those many places in our country where child marriages are still happening. But Rupa Yadav of Jaipur’s Kareri village, Rajasthan, who got married at a tender age of 8, has done something inspirational which will leave everyone spellbound.
With her in-laws’ support, Rupa succesfully cleared the NEET exam, which is the biggest medical entrance exam in the country. Before she turns 21 on July 5 this year, Rupa Yadav of Jaipur’s Kareri village will get admission to a government medical college in Rajasthan to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor.
She got married nine years ago to a 12 year old Shankar Lal and moved to her husband’s place after she had cleared her 10th standard exams. There was no school available for Rupa to continue her education and hence, she joined a private school, 6 km away from her in-laws’ place.
No matter how stringent the rules and regulations of these villages were, she overtook all the obstacles and found her way towards glory. After passing Class 12, she went to college for a BSc degree and took the All-India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) to study medicine. Her test ranking was 23,000 and she didn’t qualify for an MBBS course.
“Someone suggested I go to Kota to get coached for the competition. But I wasn’t sure if my in-laws will agree to that,” she said. “They began driving auto-rickshaws to fund my expenses. They(Villagers) would say, ‘She should be here to cook for the family and do household chores.’ But my husband had faith in me,” she added.
The institution where Rupa was studying funded 75% of her admission fee, which made things a lot more easier for her husband to convince her family members to allow her continue her studies.
In this year’s NEET, she scored 603 out of 720 and secured a national rank of 2,283. She’s participating in counselling for college allotment and is sure to find a berth at a government medical college in Rajasthan. “I’m hoping to get into SMS Medical College in Jaipur,” she said.
Well, this indeed is a remarkable achievement from this young lady, who defied all the odds and cultural barriers to fulfill her dreams and kudos to her husband Shankar, who has been such an integral part of her wife’s journey.
