Child bride married at 8, this 20-year-old woman from Rajasthan is all set to become a doctor

Rupa Yadav emerged from the shadows of child marriage to make a career for herself, with the full support of her husband and in-laws.

Rupa’s husband and brother-in-law willingly drove rickshaws to pay for her education

Born into a poverty-stricken farmer’s home in Kareri village of Jaipur district of Rajasthan, India, Rupa and her elder sister Rukma were married to Shankar Lal, who was then 12, and his elder brother Babu Lal, respectively. Her husband and brother-in-law, both farmers, supported her all along, even driving auto-rickshaws to meet the education expenses, disregarding some of the other villagers’ disparaging remarks. 

Where there’s a will, there’s a way: from a child bride to medical college

The story of Rupa Yadav reads like a script of Hindi soap opera. Notwithstanding her early marriage and poor economic background, Rupa is another step closer to achieving her childhood dream of becoming a doctor by securing 603 marks in recently declared NEET -2017 results. (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test or NEET-UG is an entrance examination in India, for students who wish to study any graduate medical course.)

Daughter of a poor farmer of Kareri village of Chomu, near Jaipur, Rupa was married at the tender age of eight to Shankar Lal, aged only 12 himself in 1996.

Recognising the child’s obvious potential, the villagers urged her husband and in-laws to let her continue her studies. 

Determined to write her own destiny, Rupa, while attending to daily chores, passed 11th and 12th exams with flying colours.

“Although I did not qualify for a good government college for MBBS, the marks encouraged my husband and brother-in-law to send me to Kota to prepare for medical entrance test,” Rupa said. In 2015, Rupa joined Allen Career Institute for the coaching.

To meet the expenses of coaching and accommodation in Kota, her husband Shankar Lal and brother-in-law Babu Lal, besides farming, did extra work driving auto-rickshaws in their area.

In 2016, Rupa scored 506 but missed the admission to a reputable medical college by a small margin. Undeterred, Rupa decided to give it another try. This time Allen Career Institute, recognising her talent and commitment, waived 75% of the fee as scholarship and finally Rupa proved that if one really wants to achieve anything in life, none of social and economic barriers can stop you.

“Studying in Kota made me confident and positive which paved my way to achieve my dream”, Rupa said. Appreciating Rupa’s efforts, Naveen Maheshwari, director of Allen Career Institute, announced that the institute has decided to offer her a full scholarship for the next four years for MBBS studies.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. It doesn’t matter whether you are poor or you were married off at the age of eight.