from ABC News:

She's been called a leader and an icon, and her actions are considered revolutionary – all because 13-year-old Rekha Kalindi refused to be married off and wanted to attend school instead.

Children play in the village of Jhalda II, home of 13-year-old Rekha Kalindi, inset, hailed as a leader and an icon for refusing to be married off, choosing to attend school instead.

(Karen Russo/ABC News)

That act of defiance has rippled through Rekha's village and throughout India. Because of her stubborn refusal to give in to her parents' demands, other girls in the village have also balked at early marriages.

Rekha's story gained national attention with India's newspapers hailing her for accomplishing change that the India government was incapable of making. She has become so popular that the president of India requested to meet her this past spring.

Rarely has parental disobedience been so richly praised.

Raised in one of India's poorest village, Rekha has worked for most of her short life. Like her father, she helped to support her family by rolling a type of cigarette called beedi. Then two years ago, a government non-profit program plucked her from a life of child labor to enroll her in special school.

Along with learning the standard classes, Rekha and dozens of other former child laborers were also taught leadership skills. The school, part of a UNICEF program, was free of charge so that families would not remove children from the program due to cost.