KOLKATA: A Class X student was showed the door by her parents for refusing to marry a construction labourer before turning 18. However, with the help of school authorities and intervention of administration and police, Julekha Khatun, 16, has found home in the biology lab of Nabagram High School in Bengal’s Murshidabad district.
Daughter of daily wage labourers Rafikul Islam and Sulekha Bibi, Julekha always wanted to study science and lived near her school with her maternal relatives. However, fearing social ostracisation, her relatives asked her to leave after she refused to marry. Her parents followed suit. School principal Sanjay Mondal took the matter to Nabagram additional BDO Biplab Basak after which a police team from Murshidabad Police Station went to Rafikul and Sulekha and warned them against marrying off their minor daughter.
Even after the warning, Julekha felt threatened and approached Mondal again, who has now made a permanent arrangement for Julekha at the biology laboratory. The school has residential facilities only for boys. “Nobody disturbs me here and I can prepare for the exam in peace. The caretaker gets me food. Necessities such as soap and oil are provided by the teachers. I hope to stay here till exams are over,” Julekha said.