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Str / AFP - Getty Images
Laxmi Sargara, 18, holds her certificate of the annullment of her marriage outside the court Tuesday in Jodhpur, India.
An Indian woman who was a baby bride has had her 17-year marriage legally annulled in a ground-breaking case challenging the culture of child weddings, Agence France Presse reported Wednesday.
Laxmi Sargara was 1 year old when she was married to a 3-year-old boy named Rakesh in the desert state of Rajasthan in northwestern India, the French news agency said. Their families decided that when they grew up they would live together and have children.
Child marriages, outlawed in India in 1929, are still common in many parts of the country, especially in rural and poorer communities, AFP said.
A Unicef report says 47 percent of married women in India wed before age 18. Unicef also says 40 percent of the world's child marriages take place in India.
"I was unhappy about the marriage,” Sargara, now 18, told AFP. “I told my parents who did not agree with me, then I sought help. Now I am mentally relaxed and my family members are also with me."
Girls married off in infancy often remain in their parents' homes until they reach puberty and then are taken amid great celebrations to their husbands’ families, AFP said.
When Sargara just days ago discovered that she was married and would be sent to her husband’s home this week, she sought advice from social worker Kriti Bharti, who runs the children’s rights group Sarathi Trust, AFP said.
Bharti negotiated with Rakesh, the groom, who only uses one name, and both families to persuade them that the marriage was unfair, AFP reported.
"It is the first example we know of a couple wed in childhood wanting the marriage to be annulled, and we hope that others take inspiration from it," Bharti told AFP.
Rakesh, an earth-mover driver, at first wanted to press ahead with the relationship but was convinced by Sargara’s fierce opposition that the marriage should be revoked, Bharti said.
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The marriage was annulled through a joint legal document signed by the bride and groom and validated by a public official in Jodhpur, AFP said.
"To ensure that the girl does not face any problem in future, we decided to go for a legal agreement," said Indu Chaupra, local director of the ministry of women and child development, told AFP.
The annulment coincided with the Akshaya Tritiya festival, a traditional date for mass child weddings. On Sunday, villagers in Rajasthan attacked and injured at least 12 government officials who tried to stop a wedding of about 40 child couples, AFP said.
A recent survey found that 10 percent of girls in Rajasthan are married off before the age of 18, the BBC reported.
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If child marriage is illegal in India anyway, then they were not really married.
It makes you wonder why all the argument for the annulment. The marriage was illegal. I guess their concept of obeying the law and our is different somehow....
Wait a week: There will be a companion story about her "Honor Killing".
Kevin C- sadly, that was my thought as well.
The annulment was necessary in the eyes of the participates because it makes it offical. No one in the future can lay claim to the other party. This appeases both families. Tradition in those countries die hard.
In all likelihood she's Hindu, not Islamic. Islam is responsible for the bulk of the world's honor killings at this time in our history (although all religions, including christianity and judaism have practiced honor killings throughout history), so in all likelihood she's fairly safe.
You mixed your brown people religions up....
Kevin: Don't think she's Muslim. Her face and arms are showing. Hindu's are worlds away from a Muslim when it comes to peace and tranquility. The marriages are more for family net worth and property.
Drowning Grover - perhaps they are not "honor killings" per se but killing of wives by "kitchen accidents" is known to happen at more than an acceptable rate among Hindus. It's pretty much the same thing.
You, Cindy, are misinformed. How many times have you been to India, huh? The American media tends to over-blow isolated incidents. What you are referring to is not normal. It is not "acceptable". Yes, in a nation of more than one billion, you may have an occasional tragedy or situation. If you open any American newspaper, you can see many tragedies on a daily basis. You can not judge hundreds of millions of persons by what one or two people do.
It's so nice to see evolution beginning anew in these 3rd world countries. Since this is institutional Child Abuse it looks like places like India, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq and others have a long way to go before their ready to join the nations of civilized folk. Now let's watch the criticism!
Nice try at being a troll.. but you're cut out for it... Too bad no one took your bait.
Technically Darius, you did.
ha ha ha~ both of you took it now! now the both of you are in his web! foolz~ ...O!no
Perhaps it was William's misuse of the word "their" that indicated he is ignorant and, therefore, not to be taken seriously.
India, a third world country? You are delusional, my friend.
Valiarius thanks for exposing your ignorance. India is a third world country.
I like the Yahoo Answers version of "Third World":
"The First, Second, and Third World terminology is an outdated means of categorizing the world's nations. It refers back to the Cold War when all the world's nations were either allied with NATO (First World), the USSR (Second World), or were so economically undeveloped that their input to world forum at the time was considered insignificant (Third World).
With the breakup of the Soviet Union, and even now, as the Russian Federation considers outright joining the NATO forces it once opposed, there really isn't a definable "Second World."
Today, a Third World country is loosely defined as any country that is undeveloped, or is still so early in process of developing that it has not yet entered the world stage as an important economic power."
When the vast majority of a country lives in poverty, "I" consider that country 3rd world. I have also spent a year in India, it is 3rd world country with some very rich people.
India has a big contradiction, many people are poor and ignorant, but they built spacecraft, nuclear missiles and other items that not all the first world countries are capable to build.
We think that children marriages in India is some form of child abuse, but in their eyes, it's tradition.
You are truly ridiculous. Indian civilization goes back 7000 years. Moreover, the wealth of the West is based on wealth plundered from India. Why do you think Columbus was searching for India? At one time, it was the wealthiest nation on Earth. Regarding this article, there are Indian social workers and child advocates who spring into action when a case comes to light. Indians really don' t give a hoot what folks like you think.
If I was rakesh, I would resist too, she is too gorgeous to let go. But then, after having seen the ugly side, I would have signed the paper pronto! :)
Kidding aside, this is good for both of them. There are enough marital problems in this world between grown up marriages itself that we donot want childhood weddeds also joining the mix.
Now if only the Catholic church would allow divorces....
.....and stop trying to interfere in civil marriage law by denying gays the right to marry.
I would worry about the Catholic Church redefining their interpretation of marriage. You never know where they will go with it, instead of allowing divorce and recognizing gay marriages you could end up with priests trying to marry abused children.
Was the Catholic Church in this article? Then shut up!
The Catholic Church will allow divorces just as soon as Jesus Christ changes the rule. It's His rule; the Church just enforces it.
Cat, all Jesus said was to treat others as you want to be treated. NOTHING about sex or marriage at all.
What you are getting is a mixture of Jewish and Pagan traditions that MAN put together. Nothing against the present day church, but I do feel that the church could have been much more Christ like had the priest AND people actually been able to read and understand the words of Christ.
Actually, many arranged marriages which are based on shared values and beliefs are more solid and happier than those based on hormones.
I don't mean these marriages set up for infants but those between young adults and which allow for the couple to meet and are be part of the process.
The values and beliefs of young adults can change by the time they become adults. Or do you mean the values and beliefs of their parents? In your generic comparison how many "many" arranged marriages are more solid and happier than the hormone based marriages? Are all marriages that ultimately come from love whether it's at first sight or after years of knowing each other included under the "hormone" descriptor?
Of your cherry-picked arranged marriages that continue to be solid are they discounted if and when the two people come to love each other? And if the love isn't required or at least a hallmark of a successful arranged marriage are you advocating two people who do not share feelings for one another copulate to produce children?? (If that sounds offputting perhaps that's because it would be offputting.)
1 Opinion- Your argument is based off of several false cultural assumptions. The first one is that individuality and uniqueness are valued outside of the western world. In Asia, escpecially rural Asia, the importance of being part of a group outways the importance of being unique. Hence why in many eastern Asian countries, people are generally called by their family names instead of their first names, and why in Western Asia honor killins are so common. Your second false assumption is that all cultures in the world marry for love. This is not true. In Asia arranged marriages are common because they forge economic and social alliances, it allows males to carry on the family name, and it provides women with an economic support system. Children also act as a retirement plan for their parents, because in India, theirs no such thing as social security, and many of the working poor cant afford to save their money. In their culture marriage is a neccesity, and it doesn't need to be based off of love.
I have no illusions about other cultures and personally I think marrying for love alone is ridiculously short sighted. However being forced or coerced to decide who you will spend the rest of your life with when you are still a child is a recipe for disaster. Yes the marriages can last a long time but that is not an example of a good marriage, that is proof that divorce is frowned upon or not allowed at all. We used to do this here and then we had the sexual and political revolution and women and men realized they didn't have to be miserable because of a mistake they made at 18.
This is a victory for women. This is not a mistake made at 18. This is a mistake made by parents who were more concerned about dowries and personal wealth than the happiness of their children. If they were truly concerned about the happiness of their children, then nothing would have changed by waiting until the bride and groom were of majority.
Can you say bassackward
But, whatever the reasons for marriage, coercion can't be one of them. Not everyone in India wants to be part of your collective view of society.
Children's rights advocates rock!
Do child couples let themselves go after they get married? "After I got married at 5, I stopped working out because I figured 'What's the point? I don't have to impress anyone any more'."
:-P
OK that was funny. I LOLed.
If this sort of thing is illegal, but still happens in some of these countries, why is nobody ever prosecuted for it and why does it continue?
Honor killings are illegal too, but you cant' stop the people's way of thinking. This is their culture.
becasue nobody cares about anybody certainly not the girls in these countries. rodents over have more rights then women do in this place. good for her to stand up forherself.
With all the talk about "these countries" don't forget this was not all that uncommon here not so long ago. The country singer Loretta Lynn was married at age 13, for example. Out of curiosity, who would you prosecute? The person who performed the ceremony? The kids? The parents? Plus, as a common law country, India probably has a Statute of Limitations. Better to work on changing the culture by providing more opportunities for all Indians, men and women; and, by making assistance available to the victims of this practice as was done here.
When is a law a law?
When it is enforced.
@Wants to Know -- Loretta Lynn freely chose her husband, so that's a false analogy. My grandmother married at 15, freely chosing my grandfather because she loved him. The marriage lasted 70 years and was based on true love right to the end.
Healthy male: A law is a law when it is enforced? That is simplistic sloganeering that will not change a thing. Our own 55 mph national speed limit was the law, but it was widely ignored and rarely enforced. The fact is that in a democracy, you need generally need some concensus that a law is just (or at least necessary) before it will be enforced consistently. As the article indicated, attempts to enforce this law recently in this part of India were met with violent resistance against the authorities. And realistically, what can the authorities DO about it with an emphasis purely on enforcement? Jail the parents? (Who would then care for the kids in this society of scarce resources?) Fine the parents? (Thus taking food out of the kids' mouths?) What is needed are steps that will change the culture to build a concensus in favor of the law. This includes incentivizing education for all, particularly for girls so they will no longer be perceived as a burden on their families, providing employment opportunities, etc. In this case the child advocate went for an annulment, rather than just declaring the marriage void, to build concensus within the families that the marriage should not be. This protected the girl from physical harm or other negative repercussions. She is lucky she had someone sensitive to the nuances of the situation in her corner, rather than someone like you!
apbassy91: "freely chose?" Have you READ her biography and what her home life was like?
And these people have nuclear weapons? Holy f*****g Christ. Welcome to the 21st Century.
Scary part is I feel better about them having nukes than nearly all of their neighbors that do!
Sounds like Homer Simpson at the nuclear plant! DOH!
You are so right doctor jim. And so is gone4now. I pray that the CIA has stolen all their stuff that makes the weapons nuclear, so they don't really have any. And then, of course, there's Putin.
@ doctor - No, no. I'm sure these people don't have any nukes. They are very expensive and the type of things that government militaries have not individual people...... ;)
Dr. Jim you don't look at our own country and feel the same? Did you miss out on Frothy Santorum's efforts to transform our nation into a theocracy?
What policies, exactly, did Santorum propose to transform the nation into a government of prelates?
Restrict access to contraception, enslave women's bodies, impose Vatican rules on civil society. (Kennedy's eloquent pledge not to do so made Santorum want to throw up.) Need I remind you of what stuff he was spewing just weeks ago? REALLY!
A problem is when some of them who believe in child marriages try to continue this when they immigrate to the US. Years ago, there was a problem as some Middle-Eastern group tried marrying their daughters off at age 14. I think I read something about a teenager in Afghanistan who was beaten up by her husband's family because she produced a female child. It's hard to understand, but male control of women is a way to make it much easier for them to succeed.
This happens every day in the UK for example. Girls by the scores disappear from schools, either returning married or never to be seen again. The kuffar law doesn't make a difference. If Mohammad did it, it's good enough for them.
First of all I admire the girl's courage and I am happy for her. To comments being posted here about third world and how backward people are. dont be that harsh in your criticism. I admire the US for what it has achieved, I live here and I am from India originally. I too feel critical of some of these issues that still exist back in India. However when you have a country with 1 Billion plus with a myraid of old cultures, values it isn't easy to change that overnight. The US is a relatively young country with far less number of people. Who knows many years from now where the US will be, there are many crazy things hapenning in the US too but I dont generalize the country based on that. Every place has it's good and bad. The hope is all of us evolve and move (it will happen at different speeds).
You are correct in many ways, Sam. But I don't see any real efforts to make these changes over there. On the flip side, there are areas of the US that allow young teen marriages - like in the Appalachians.
The fact that she was able to go to a social service worker who helped is good progress. In the old days she would have to accept her fate and no support from anyone. At least she got help. Hopefully people in other neighboring villages hear her story and also get the courage. Remember when you live in these very poor communities, they want to ensure a life for their daughter. They marry them off to ensure they can have someone to take care of them when they grow up. Now the middle class is growing, women are having opportunities so you can start seeing the change. It will take time and enforcement is very tough once again with that population level and the fact that some consider this is a culture thing and not a legal thing.
To Sam: Don't apologize--- India has a civilization going back more than 7000 years. As far as the issue of marriage--- the divorce rate in the US is about 50%---so what is better? Even if the marriages are arranged in India, the family unit is strong. I would like to see what would happen in the West, when the "Welfare State" goes bankrupt. Will the family members take care of each other here, like they do in India?
lucky for both them. i wish i could have both of my marriages annulled. maybe i would have some money left.
Arranged marriages happen in Europe and Russia as well. At least they were both children when the marriage happened, there are many places in this world where girls as young as 5 are married to men old enough to be their grandfathers and start giving birth before they are 12.
Sounds like you might want to check your sources for reliability.
Happens all the time. These girls die in childbirth, or end up with fistulas and other horrific injury on top of having been genitally mutilated to begin with (without anesthetic). They are slaves and are raped at will by their husbands. They are often second or third wives. This happens all the time in Jordan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, etc. ad nauseum.
Egypt's shiny new parliament is now considering legislation to lower the marriageable age of girls to be more in line with The Perfect Example of Mohammad, and additional legislation finally allowing them to have sex with their dead spouses (up to 6 hours). So there's some progress in a democracy.
It's not the government...it's the values. When women don't have liberty, the society cannot be modernized. Just can't be.
No matter where marriage age law is introduced in Muslim countries, it is either struck down over time or never voted into existence in the first place. It goes against sharia to restrict the age. Sharia says that a girl who hasn't had her period yet has to wait three months before getting married again after a Muslim man divorces her. How old does she have to be for pregnancy to have been a concern if she hasn't even menstruated yet? Yet it goes on and on.
The topic is Hindu Child brides, it is not about Islam, please keep your Islam bashing in an article that at least is related to Muslims. That shouldn't be to much to ask. I think we are supposed to keep to topic in Newsvine comments.
Arranged marriage would explain most of the reason why developed country increasingly have lower birth rate. Without being forced to marry, many would not know how and linger around to be single adults begging for match dot com to find them a mate. In fact, if there was no forced marriage, humanity might have faded into extinction thousands of years ago. Good thing is, without human, this planet would not have its problems with climate change etc, which will kill off all humans pretty soon too, so we're all headed to the right direction anyway.
Yus, the earth is not in danger of extinction. maybe thousands of years ago, but times have changed. If anything, we have overpopulation.
Yus, Arranged marriage does not mean that the parties are forced to marry someone who they never knew overnight. This is how it works: parents consider various options based on equal economic and social standing, the general amicability of each other's family (not only immediate members), the (financial) stability and capability of of bride and groom to run a family etc. Once this is established, the boy and girl are formally introduced (not married yet). Once the marriage is fixed, there is a courtship period. This generally ranges from 3 to 6 months (almost the same period in all cultures for someone to "seriously" fall in love. So by the time they get married, they are "primed up" and in love for the next stage. Forced marriages do happen, but not in the normal parts of India.
Those Indians, from India, have lost their ever-lovin' minds - marrying off their babies and worshipping cows while millions of their countrymen starve. Satan sure has a hold of them!!!!
Look in the mirror before criticizing others cultures. Yes, this child marriage is senseless. And so are many things in many cultures in this world.
Worshiping cows - I will come to that. 3 cultures - Hindus, Islam and Christians. See its origin and history. Two religions that force people into their fold (proselytizing religions) are Christianity and Islam. Missionary Christians still are converting people in rural India to its fold in the name of better benefits. Unlike Muslim countries, India is a secular country where anybody can practice any religions.
Hindus worship Cow - for a simple reason. We believe in that the LORD exists in all forms in plants and animals. For Life to survive - it has to depend on other forms of Life (eat to survive and grow). Our Sages - made Cow holy so that we do not touch the meat from it. WE are happy with the milk it gives (Cow is the best chemical factory on earth). Cows milk can feed many rather than the meat (once cow is dead, it may feed 20 people for 10 days) and is done. Where as the milk it can give can feed people for years. So the Sages - used religion to enforce this rule and made the Cow a holy animal. See the logic now.
Europeans, Americans and Muslim people will not understand this philosophy - because they are basically meat eaters. Kill and Conquer is the name of the game in Life. Of course the Capitalistic companies do that now - raise, kill and increase the yield of beef and profit from it. Many Americans eat that 3 times a day since it is cheap. Cows in US eat meat also!! including the mad-cows...
Of course Americans and Europeans and Japanese are happy eating beef... Hindus did not ask you guys to change. Whether you eat 1 lb burger or 3 lb burger we do not care. Whether you use viagara or lipitor we do not care...
Now tell me - "Satan sure has a hold of them!!!!" such statements are baseless chatter on internet...
Read history books written by a neutral author who presents balanced view, rather than get worked up over small issues...
Lord of the Universe - If you bring up the history of violence in Christianity and Islam, is it OK if I bring up the Hindu history of the caste system? Let's not be selective here.
LotU - Christians do not "force" anyone to become a Christian, nor are there state or violent repercussions if they leave Christianity. Yes, they proselytize because they just believe they have good news to share with others. What's the harm? Take it or leave it. You are not correct about the conversions.
Islam requires death for apostates, and subjugation or death for those who do not convert. I'm not sure how these two can be confused.
Sure, bring up anything - Caste system is India is used and abused in the past 1000 yrs. In its simple form - it was all about varna and vasana (tendencies from past life, there is not equivalent word in english for sanskrit). This system was abused by learned people (upper caste or brahmins) and then the politicians. After 1947 (India Independence), Brahmins the upper caste are at the recieveing end - because every other caste, religion has reservation except brahmins!!. Some uppercaste people cheat on their certificate to say that they are lower caste - just to get a govt job. Of course - this weakness and loop hole is being taken advantage by Muslims and Christians also.
Bottonline: Hindu brahmins in India as being treated by the current India as a second class citizens. Many who can escape - are in the USA , where there is no discrimination based on caste, as it is a very young country. Thank the pilgrims and the US constitution - religious freedom is a right and there is no concept of caste system here.
The original system based on your varna and vasana - it nothing but the tendencies you bring to life. The four caste (if you call that way) is applicable to every nation on earth. The simple way of looking at is as follows.
Brahimns - the learned - the thinkers, consultants , university professions and research people
Kshatrias -warriors are soldiers, people who defend the country and do hard work (think oil rig workers, army navy, marines)
Vaishnavas - business people, all the CEOs of the nations, top business executives
Sudras - working class labor- factory workers, cleaners, janitors..
One can change the tendency and move from one caste (or tendency with which you were born) and move into a another category. There is no LORD or God up in the sky who is stopping this. or Who says if you are a sudra, you cannot enter a temple etc.
Let me also tell you that a Sudra (low caste if you will) cannot be a priest in India, simply because that person cannot chant sanskrit mantras. Think this way - can a janitor be a priest?? No, but he can make an effort and put in that required hours of training, move toward spirituality...
All these divisions are man-made and has been abused by the politicians of India after 1947...
Hope this clarifies the caste system for you....
LotU - Christians do not "force" anyone to become a Christian, nor are there state or violent repercussions if they leave Christianity. Yes, they proselytize because they just believe they have good news to share with others. What's the harm? Take it or leave it."
Yes Sir - Now we are talking... What planet are you on? There are millions of forced conversions (rape, forced conversion, hindu temple descration etc. by Christians all over India). Even now they are doing in India on the village side - there was a Andhra Chief Minister called YSR Reddy - he was a Christian (of course as you may have guessed, he or his fore fathers were Hindus and he got converted) this guy basically converted or pumped lots of money to convert village people to become christians. This is in modern India in 2010 !! Go figure. Indian politicians are busy making money with all the growth that country in experiencing and all the low caste people are milking the heck out of Indian tax payers (2G scam).
This guy - chief minsiter wanted a hill that belongs to hindu god (7 hilsl god or lord vishnu). Later looks like his karmic mistakes were so bad, that he died in a chopper crash on a hill!
Bottom line: Islam and Christians always want to convert other people to their fold or cult (what ever you call that). We (Hindus) do no do that - we recognize that there is only one LORD. If you do not think there is Lord or God fine.
There is only one Cosmic truth - religions is man-made, that cosmic truth is what we call with various names...
And why can't a janitor be a priest? LOL
Regardless, nothing beats a succulent New York Strip cooked to medium. Yum!
I love when believers fight about stupid fairy tales like my Hindu cow is more sacred than the Islamic pig than the Christian sheep. Stop taking all these bronze age nonsense seriously and have fun guys :)
@winoceros
As little as 300 years ago in this country, Christians hunted down and killed people for Heresy and "Witchcraft" (READ: practiced common folk traditions passed down from European cultures).
So, YES, Christians have in the past, and a few continue to in this day and age, advocate torture and/or death for anyone who does not convert to their faith.
well, if marriages are arranged in heaven, what's wrong with getting them going asap. this is govt intereference with faith. the conservative republicans should condemn it like they condemn contraceptives.
Who condemned contraceptives? Some choose not to use them, but what is conservative about that? That's a religious or a health issue.
Why wouldn't anyone condemn child marriage?
Let me know when you have some evidence that "conservatives" are condemning contraceptives...I assume for use by Americans, since you didn't specify.
First: I vote Republican for the most part
Second: Republicans in a large part are anti-abortion, anti-contraceptives where Democrats mainly are pro to both of those
Third: I dislike much of the Democrat platform but I must carefully balance my votes as there is much of the Republican platform I dislike as well.
Child or arranged marriages are just another way in which humans are seen as property of other humans to be traded as a common commodity. It is good India has moved towards a more civilized future today.
The real test in this is how everything plays out down the road. For one, I am glad this young lady stood up for what she believed in. Hopefully mounting pressure or talk from those in the community does not result in the family of Laxmi to kill her in the name of honor? Unfortunately this is a culture that does believe in honor killings and although does not occur often, the fact that it still does is an issue.
East Indian culture is filled with many treasures and the people I have met that have come to the US to live, I have been glad to have as co-workers and neighbors.
The family/food centered culture is a welcome addition to this American's culture. I love the spices, the clothes, jewelry, gatherings and good common sense of the people.
Child marriage is the epitome of "luck." As in: "Gee I'm glad they picked her, she's hot." vs. putrid horror.
Sounds like an Executive Order signed by an alleged President. Similar to what we have in this country
I feel that she will need to be careful and look over her shoulder the rest of her life. Honor killings take place in places like this. She was very brave.
God Bless America! For all the craziness we have here, it aint nothin like the rest of the world.
Miss Sargara, well done for standing up for yourself. I hope you will find a man who you will marry because you are both in love and not because it was prearranged.
Rakesh, well done sir for not pressing ahead with this. Now may you find a woman who loves you for you and is not marrying you because your parents chose her for you.
how WONDERFUL that Indians and Saudi Arabians and Chinese peeps treat women SO WELL...
oh, and you can add CATHOLICS and MUSLIMS to that, as well...
I guess women don't matter....
I think it's terrible that you think Catholics abuse women. Say three Hail Mary's for your lack of faith! I chose to be Catholic and love it! I once considered marrying a Muslim, but I decided I didn't have a vocation for marriage.
The Church doesn't determine how you choose to get to Heaven. If you feel called to the single life, be single. No one forces you into a marriage or into a convent.
There are good an there are bad people in all religious faiths. There are good and bad people who are professed atheists/agnostics.
Bigotry is a form of ignorance, just as the assumption that ones race/nationality determines ones behavior is ignorant.
I think it's terrible that you think Catholics abuse women.
She never said anything about abuse. She made a dig that Catholics don't treat women so well and I have to agree. For centuries women have been treated like second-class citizens in the Catholic religion. Why are there no women priests?