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Agra Sisters Walked Out Of Wedding Because The Grooms Were 'Dark Complexioned'

Agra Sisters Walk Out Of Wedding Because The Grooms Were 'Dark Complexioned'
NEW DELHI, INDIA - OCTOBER 24: Brides and grooms attend their wedding ceremony during an eco-friendly mass marriage on October 24, 2015 in New Delhi, India. The Inner Wheel Club of Delhi Midtown, under an initiative against dowry and to provide the support to under-privileged girls, conducted a mass marriage ceremony where 50 couples tied the nuptial knot. Among the brides, two were widows and married again whereas one of them is physically challenged. The simple ceremony began with traditional Jaymala. (Photo by Ajay Aggarwal/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Hindustan Times via Getty Images
NEW DELHI, INDIA - OCTOBER 24: Brides and grooms attend their wedding ceremony during an eco-friendly mass marriage on October 24, 2015 in New Delhi, India. The Inner Wheel Club of Delhi Midtown, under an initiative against dowry and to provide the support to under-privileged girls, conducted a mass marriage ceremony where 50 couples tied the nuptial knot. Among the brides, two were widows and married again whereas one of them is physically challenged. The simple ceremony began with traditional Jaymala. (Photo by Ajay Aggarwal/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

In an age when women's rights activists are campaigning to remove gender disparities and change societal mindsets about body image, rooted in deep prejudice from centuries of conditioning, two girls in Agra allegedly walked out of their marriage, disappointed that their grooms were not of lighter skin colour. It's noteworthy perhaps that the girls, both minors, were being married off by their families against their consent to adult men years older than them.

The minor sisters in Agra district found out during their marriage that the men were not only dark complexioned but also appeared years older than them, reported the Deccan Herald.

Aged 14 and 16 years, the sisters left the wedding venue at Sikrara village and threatened to call the police when a village council was called to persuade them to say yes to the wedding, the report said.

The grooms were reportedly 25 and 30 years old.

"Their mother chose the grooms on the recommendation of a baba," Vinay Prakash, station officer of Fatehabad, told the Times of India.

TOI said the girls had the firm support of their maternal grandparents and packed off the grooms from Aligarh. Marriage of minors is illegal in India, according to the Prohibition of Child marriage Act 2006.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.