India: The fight against childhood marriages

Child marriage is forbidden in India. Yet many girls are forced into unwanted marriages. The consequences are serious: without an education, the victims are usually trapped in a life of complete dependency, even as adult women.

In Chennai in southern India, committed social workers are trying to break this vicious circle. The "Girls' House" offers girls a refuge - and tries to open up new perspectives for them through education. The award-winning documentary accompanies a caretaker of the home in her fight for a self-determined life for her protégés.

In patriarchal India, girls are still subject to discrimination. Children from socially precarious backgrounds in particular are often married off as minors. At 20 years old, Amulpriya is already one of the older ones in the "Girls' House" in Chennai. Her family has long wanted to marry the young woman off, but so far Amulpriya has been able to successfully resist. She is supported by the social worker Sunitha. As the director of the "Girls' House," Sunitha does everything she can to give her protégés a chance in life. But here in southern India, an independent life thanks to good education and training is not seen as a desirable goal for young women.

Nonetheless, Amulpriya rebels against her mother's plans for an arranged marriage - something her mother insists on, despite her own bad experiences. Then there is the mother of Malini (10) and Manisha (7). She, too, has experienced trauma. She was married off to a cousin when she was 14 and had the two children with him. The father left the family long ago and the new husband is an alcoholic. The girls’ grandmother in particular now wants the two little girls to come to Sunitha at the "Girls' House." She knows that the children can grow up there in safety. But Malini is very homesick. And the mother also finds it difficult to separate from her girls.

Filmmaker Natalia Preston accompanies the film’s protagonists and their families with her camera, without comment or judgement. The desire for self-determination is opposed by centuries of deeply rooted tradition; in many cases it is the mothers who want to send their own daughters on the same path they followed, despite their personal stories of suffering.