President Pratibha Patil with Rekha (left), Afsana and Sunita on Thursday. (PTI)

Purulia, May 14: Three schoolgirls from Purulia today shook hands with the country’s President who had come to know how they had “revolted” when told to become child brides.

The girls — Rekha Kalindi, 12, and Afsana Khatun and Sunita Mahato, both 13 — are students of special schools set up under the National Child Labour Project to educate children who have to work for a living.

Last September, Afsana, who stays in a Purulia town slum, was told by her family she would have to marry. Her elder sister got married when she was 14. “Afsana, who collects metal scrap with her father, is the first known case in our records to have revolted,” said Prasenjit Kundu, the assistant labour commissioner who accompanied the girls to Delhi.

“Her parents had started marriage negotiations and visited the prospective groom’s house but Afsana resisted, saying she wanted to go to school,” Kundu said. Her teachers and classmates went to her home and convinced her parents she should continue to study.

Days before Afsana left for Delhi, mother Jamila was asked what she would do if a “suitable” groom was found. “The decision would be hers (Afsana’s),” she said.

But it was not Afsana’s story that caught the eye of the President. She read Rekha’s account in a newspaper.

Rekha, a resident of Bororola village, rolls bidis with her mother and younger sister — two younger brothers go to school, not her sister. Months after Afsana “revolted”, Rekha’s parents told her they wanted her to get married. She said she wanted to study, angering father Karna Kalindi, who stopped her food. Rekha, however, stayed firm.

Patil first wanted to meet Rekha. “But we wrote back (to the Rashtrapati Bhavan), requesting if two other girls could accompany her,” district magistrate Santanu Basu said.

Sunita was the third girl. Her family had finalised everything for her wedding, including the dowry and the guest list. “Only the wedding date was left to be fixed when I said I won’t marry. I want to go to school,” Sunita said. Teachers and classmates stepped in, like in Afsana’s case, and convinced her parents.

Child marriage is common in Purulia, one of Bengal’s poorest districts. Poor families get their daughters married early as the dowry demand is lesser if the girl is below 18.

Today, though, the three girls got the President’s endorsement to continue schooling. “The President told them to carry on studying,” said Biswajit Panda, BDO of Jhalda II block, who was with the girls. They were given Rs 10,000 each.

“We are very excited,” Rekha said from Delhi. “We had never travelled by train, nor stepped out of Purulia. We will share our experiences with other girls.”