Madhya Pradesh village to witness first girl marriage in 40 years

After 40 long years, Gumara village in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhind district will witness the first wedding of a girl child born in the hamlet. For several years villagers here silently practised female foeticide. The scenario started to change since 2003 when the government implemented the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, enacted by the parliament in 1994. Bride, Arti Gurjar, 18, who will tie the knot in December, said: “I don’t have many friends. There are just a few girls of my age group in the village. So I dedicate my whole time to my studies. I wanted to be a doctor.”