A 13-year-old Indian girl faced with an arranged marriage has written a letter to her teacher begging her to stop the wedding ( stock image above ) A 13-year-old Indian girl faced with an arranged marriage has written a letter to her teacher begging her to stop the wedding . Duli Hembrom wrote to the principal of Milan Mithi Uchha Vidyalaya after failing to convince her parents to call off the wedding , which is due to take place in two days . She wrote : ' I do not want to get married , I took an oath at the time of admission that I will not get married before I turn 18 . ' She added that she wanted the teacher to stop the marriage 'whichever way possible ' , the India Times reported . It is thought the 'oath ' Duli refers to is the school 's promise she had to make when she started , but exactly what it included is not known . Her father Lachhu , who lives in Gudibanda with Duli 's mother , said child marriage was a common phenomenon in their society . He told the Hindustan Times that it was difficult to find a suitable match for a grown-up girl . The Child Marriage Restraint Act , passed in India during British rule in 1929 , specified that a girl must be 18 and a boy 21 before they can wed . But the country has the second highest number of child marriages , according to a UN report . Nearly 52 per cent of girls are married before reaching 18 years old , Indian records show . Between 2011 and 2020 more than 140 million girls will become child brides globally , analysts estimate . Aarati Benera , a women ’ s rights activist , described child marriage as 'illegal and a social evil ' . The Child Marriage Restraint Act , passed in India during British rule in 1929 , specified that a girl must be 18 and a boy 21 before they can wed . Above , women and girls sit waiting to be married in a mass wedding ceremony in India . Despite numerous campaigns from many of the world 's largest charities and NGOs , the issue of child brides remains a global concern . In 2013 there were around 57.5 million child brides across the world , 40 per cent of which married in India . This is despite the Child Marriage Restraint Act , passed during British rule in 1929 , specifying that a girl must be 18 and a boy 21 before they can wed . Meanwhile , in Africa , 42 per cent of girls were married before turning 18 compared to 29 per cent in Latin America and the Caribbean . The number of child brides is estimated to rise to 140 million by 2020 if current trends continue , 18.5 million of which will be under 15 years old , analysts warn . Statistics show that girls living in poor households are almost twice as likely to marry before 18 than girls in higher income households . And girls younger than 15 are also five times more likely to die in childbirth than women in their 20s . Aarati Benera , a women ’ s rights activist , described child marriage as 'illegal and a social evil ' .
Duli Hembrom wrote to the principal at India Mithi Uchha Vidyalaya . Said parents refused to cancel the wedding and did not want to go ahead . Child Marriage Restraint Act specifies a girl must be 18 before she can wed .