Child Brides India
Add to Lightbox DownloadRadha, 15, waits for her groom the night of their wedding, Rajasthan, India, April 27, 2009. Three young sisters Radha, 15, Gora, 13, and Rajni, 5, were married to their young grooms Aleen, Giniaj and Kaushal, who were also siblings, on the Hindu holy day of Akshaya Tritiya, called Akha Teej in north India. The auspicious day is said to bring good luck to couples married then and is widely known in Rajasthan as the day most child marriages occur. Despite legislation forbidding child marriage in India, such as the Child Marriage Restraint Act-1929 and the much more progressive Prohibition of Child Marriage Act of 2006, marrying children off at a very tender age continues to be accepted by large sections of society.