Stuti Yadav* from Malad Malwani, an underdeveloped area in suburban Mumbai, was made to leave school in 2017 and quickly married off by her father to someone in their village in Uttar Pradesh’s Jaunpur. Her mother, who has a hearing and speaking impairment, had no knowledge of this. “I did not want to drop out. I had just passed my ninth grade and wanted to study further,” says the 21-year-old, who was 17 at the time.

“I resisted initially but my father started crying and was scared I would run away with someone like my elder sister. I was of the view that my father cares about me and would have planned the best for me. My mother was shocked when I returned,” she recalls. Yadav, now separated from her husband, is trying to find work and complete her education in the city.