Kriti Bharti is an Indian child rights activist who also works as a rehabilitation psychologist. In 2012, she helped get the first child annulment for a child bride and groom in court and had their child marriage declared invalid in an Indian court. Sarathi Trust, a non-profit organization, was also founded by her in 2011, and she works as a director in this venture. This organization rescues child marriage victims and ensures the welfare of these children. Since the inception of this non-profit enterprise, 41 child marriages have been challenged in court by Bharti and declared void and 1400 child marriages have been canceled from taking place.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Kriti Bharti was born as Kriti Chopra on Wednesday, 19 August 1987 (age 34 years; as in 2021) in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. His zodiac sign is Taurus. Bharti received her doctorate in psychology from Jai Narayan Vyas University, Jodhpur. Talking to Gulf News, he told about his educational qualifications,
With regular 15 to 16 hours of study, I passed class X, followed by class XII and then completed my graduation, post graduation and doctorate in psychology from Jai Narayan Vyas University in Jodhpur.
Physical Appearance
Hair Color: Black
Eye colour: black
Family
parents and siblings
His father’s name is not known. His mother’s name is Indu Chopra.
Kriti Bharti with her mother
He is the only child of his parents.
livelihood
NGOs
During her college days, Bharti started participating in various NGOs along with providing counseling as a psychotherapist. His first patient was a nine-year-old girl who was a victim of rape. He recalled that moment in an interview with Icy Tales,
I felt that it was useless to give him momentary relief by counseling him for two hours. I wanted to give him permanent freedom and change his life. This incident took me to the justice system. So, with advice, I took it to the justice system. Thus, I emphasize on these two things: justice and rehabilitation.”
Working with non-profit organizations, Bharti was able to interact with various street children who were victims of child labour, marriage and poverty. After working for seven months with NGOs, she noticed that the main issue among homeless children was child marriage. He also observed that this practice of child marriage is prevalent in rural areas of India; However, this was illegal in the Indian judiciary system. Rajasthan was considered a center of child marriage and that was Bharti’s hometown. In 2009, a report was released by UNICEF stating that 40 percent of child marriages in the world occur in India and that 56 percent of Indian women in rural areas of India are married before the age of 18.
Sarathi Trust
Bharti worked with several NGOs before starting her own venture, Sarathi Trust. In an interview, he said that all these NGOs were only spreading awareness about child marriage and its ill effects; But no one at the ground level was helping the children. He said,
I wanted to work at the grassroots level and help the victims come out of this situation, help them see a new life and make a fresh start. That’s when I founded Sarathi Trust.”
He further said that his approach was simple,
To reduce this, we prevent, abort, rehabilitate and spread awareness. “If you want to kill the enemy, you have to surround him from all sides.”
Main areas of work of Sarathi Trust:
- So that child marriage can be stopped on the spot
- If child marriage has already taken place then cancel it
- Rehabilitate victims as some families refuse to accept their children after divorce
- Organizing orientation camps to make villagers understand the ill effects of child marriage.
- By organizing an oath taking ceremony with the villagers, they were made to pledge not to do child marriage.
- Reaching children and their families through local media, including newspapers, social media and radio
Dr. Kriti guiding children
The key areas that Bharti and her organization cover to prevent child marriage in India include Rajasthan, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar. As a result of her campaigns, Bharti while talking to a media person said,
Young girls in these states have started raising their voice against this illegal practice. Earlier the girls did not know the way out of the serious situation, but now they themselves have understood the exploitation.
Bharti helped a woman named Lakshmi Sargara cancel her child marriage in 2012, leading Bharti to continue speaking to local villages and schools in Rajasthan, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar to discuss the harmful effects of child marriage. The path to individual work was paved. She also focused on teaching women empowerment. This Sarathi Trust has a helpline number for underage brides and grooms, through which they can save themselves from child marriage by reporting their cases immediately over the phone. Following a complaint lodged with her organisation, Bharti personally meets and talks to the family elders and convinces them to stop child marriage. Failing to convince the children’s family members, Bharti and her venture seek legal recourse. Bharti received several rape and death threats during her activism career. When she was stopping child marriage, Hindu leaders in Rajasthan threatened her with cutting off her nose and gang rape. He said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times,
Child marriage is like a disease: it’s important to stop it, but when so many people are infected, you have to find a way to cure them.
Dr. Kriti with rescued children
The CBSE Board of School Education has also included prevention of child marriage in its curriculum as a chapter in Social Studies. In 2020, on Akha Teej in the month of April, Bharti stopped three child marriages and as a result, this incident got included in the Limca Book of Records. He spoke about his future vision in a conversation with Icy Tales, a media house.
The second thing is to start rehabilitation centers for orphans and specially-abled children. All of these need monetary support and we have almost zero supporters. We have girls who are in 10th class, pursuing medical, engineering and B.Ed. Is studying. They have different expenses but zero sponsors. Well, I am a psychologist, I earn by conducting sessions and use that money to provide resources.
Facts/General Knowledge
- Kriti Bharti’s father left her mother when Bharti was in her mother’s womb. Relatives and family members also advised her mother to abort the child and remarry as they considered it dishonorable to give birth to a child to an abandoned mother. However, Bharti’s mother shrugged off all the allegations and advice and gave birth to the child and raised it single-handedly.
- During the pregnancy, his mother faced a lot of complications which eventually led to the baby being born seven months early. Bharti was also physically and mentally abused by her relatives while growing up. They considered him a curse. At the age of ten, Bharati was gradually poisoned by her relatives; However, she managed to escape death. This slow poison paralyzed him and made him bedridden. Later, she went through several treatments and therapies including Reiki healing, a Japanese touch therapy. After two years she was able to recover from paralysis.
Kriti’s childhood picture with her mother
- After recovering from paralysis, Kriti Bharti changed her surname from Chopra to “Bharti” (Daughter of India). They did this to get freedom from any caste system and religion of India. In an interview with Icy Tales he said,
I don’t want to be labeled based on my caste. I am the daughter of India.”
- In an interview with Icy Tales, Kriti Bharti explained why child marriage is still prevalent in India. He said,
There is some Jati Panchayat in Rajasthan or as they call Khap Panchayat in Haryana. They are not legal entities. Sarpanch is the eldest person of the community, there is no minimum qualification to become a head. His age is his only qualification.”
he adds,
This institution punishes those who disagree with child marriage and tells them that they are going against the age-old tradition and society. They penalize the families with huge amounts ranging from Rs 10-20 lakhs without taking into account the income status of the family. Along with this, they completely remove them from the society.”
- In 2021, Hershey (a chocolate manufacturing brand) launched a bar of chocolate special edition in honor of Kriti Bharti.
Kriti Bharti’s name and picture are shown on a Hershey’s chocolate wrapper with the words ‘Her-She-Rise’
- Kriti Bharti has received many national and international honors including Change Maker Award by Girls Night Bright, International Award in London, Global Award, Marwar Ratna, Mewar Ratna, Yugantar Award.
Kriti Bharti receiving Yugantar Award
- Kriti is a public speaker. She is often invited to speak at various national and international public conferences on stopping child marriage and women empowerment.
Kriti Bharti speaking on Women’s Equality Day in June 2021
- Several Indian newspaper articles also share Bharti’s fight against child marriage.
A newspaper article on Kriti Bharti and the girl who was freed after an 18-year fight against her child marriage
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn