Savitribai Phule may not be as famous as Mahatma Gandhi or Swami Vivekananda. But her impact on the liberation of the Indian woman has been no less spectacular or significant. One of the earliest crusaders of education for girls, and dignity for the most vulnerable sections of society – dalits, women and widows, Savitribai broke all the traditional shackles of 19th century India to herald a new age of thinking. She can be legitimately hailed as the mother of Indian Feminism. Read about her remarkable life of courage and initiative.

“You owe her. But do you know her? Savitribai Phule, the Mother of modern education. If you are an Indian woman who reads, you owe her. If you are an educated Indian woman, you owe her. If you are an Indian schoolgirl reading this chapter in English, you owe her. If you are an educated international desi woman, you owe her.” – Excerpted from ‘Savitribai and India’s Conversation on Education’ by Thom Wolf and Suzana Andrade, published in ‘Oikos Worldviews Journal’ (2008).

As a new bride at the age of nine, when Savitribai moved to her marital home in Pune in 1840, her most prized possession was a book that had been given to her by some Christian missionary. Impressed by her thirst for learning, Jotirao Phule, her husband, then all of 13, taught her to read and write, little knowing that this would lay the foundation for a whole new chapter in Indian history. In times when women were treated no better than the cattle at home, Savitribai Phule earned the distinction of being the first Indian woman to become a teacher. For this she undertook training at Ms. Farar’s Institution at Ahmednagar and in Ms. Mitchell’s school in Pune. “The first Indian to place universal, child sensitive, intellectually critical, and socially reforming education at the very core of the agenda for all children in India”, is how Wolf and Andrade describe her in their paper.

Savitribai Phule placed “universal, child sensitive,
intellectually critical, and socially reforming education at the very
core of the agenda for all children in India” by setting up the first
school for girls in 1848 with eight students.

Long believed to be the preserve of the Brahmins, children from other castes and communities were denied the right to an education. Savitribai and her husband broke the rules and established the first school for girls in 1848 in Bhide Wada, Narayan Peth, Pune. Eight girls, belonging to different castes, enrolled as students on the first day. When she started her unique school, Savitribai also overcame another hurdle – of women not being allowed to step outside the home to work. Of course, the young woman had to contend with a lot of opposition. She carried a change of sari with her every day as men pelted her with stones, mud and even dung as she made her way to the school. But undeterred by all the opposition, Savitribai opened another school for adults the same year. By 1851, she was running three schools with around 150 girl students.

“Women who cite harassment as a reason to quit what they want to do can learn a lot from Savitribai,” feels Sushama Deshpande, actor, writer and director of Marathi theatre. A journalist by training, she has written and directed the play, ‘Vhay, Mee Savitri Bai’ (‘Yes… I am Savitri Bai’), based on the life and works of the educationist. Today, 24 years later, too, the play inspires and enthralls audiences across the world. “Theatre journalism, as I call it, is my way of reaching out to women from all walks of life and telling them how strong they are through stories like that of Savitribai’s,” she says.

Today, government programmes like the ‘Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan’, the Right to Education Act and the midday meal scheme that incentivize education, may seem like modern concepts, but even 150 years back Savitribai had set a precedent – she gave stipends to prevent children from dropping out of school. She was the teacher who inspired a young student to ask for a library for the school at an award ceremony instead of gifts for herself. A poet and writer, Savitribai had motivated another young girl, Mukta, to write an essay that became the cornerstone of ‘Dalit literature’. She even conducted the equivalent of a parent-teacher meeting to involve the parents so they would understand the importance of education and support their children. Her schools imparted vocational training as well.

Along with educating women, Savitribai also took on the responsibility for the health and well-being of young widows, another exploited group. A poster from 1863 reads something like this: “Women who conceive out of wedlock should go to the home of Jotirao Govindrao Phule for their confinement. Their names will be kept confidential”. Pained by the plight of young Kashibai, a widow sentenced to ‘Kalapani’ rigorous imprisonment in the Andamans for killing her newborn, the Phules opened up their home as a shelter for young widows. Raped by family members and then disowned when pregnant, these women often resorted to suicide or killed their babies. The couple even adopted one child as their own.

Today, every educated Indian woman owes a debt of gratitude
to Savitribai Phule, often referred to as the mother of modern girls’
education.

Yeshwant, their adopted son, trained as a doctor and eventually joined his mother in all the good work she did. Setting an example for others, she conducted his wedding under the ‘Satya shodhak samaj’, or the truth-seekers society, with no priests, no dowry and at very little expense. She even brought her son’s fiancée for a home stay before the wedding, so she could get familiar with her soon-to-be home and family. Moreover, she took on the household chores so the young woman had time to study.

Maybe if soaps today had mothers-in-law like her instead of the scheming kitchen politics they show on TV, we may have reduced dowry deaths and other social problems.

laments Mridu Verma a journalist-turned-entrepreneur. “Savitribai is an Indian icon who realised the true meaning of women’s liberation long before it became fashionable,” she adds.

Savitribai and Jotirao were always there for the community. In 1877, their region was hit by a severe drought. The couple launched the ‘Victoria Balashram’ and aided by friends and funds collected by going from village to village, they fed over a thousand people every day. Earlier in 1868, during a very dry spell, they had opened up their wells to the Dalits, who were forbidden to draw water from other wells.

Stories of her personal generosity are legend. No one visiting the Phule home would go empty handed. At the very least they would be assured of a meal. She would give away her saris too, if she saw anyone in torn saris. Extremely hands on, she looked after all the young widows who came to their house to have their babies. She also personally nursed husband Jotirao to health when a stroke paralysed him.

says Harish Sadani of Men Against Violence and Abuse (MAVA), an all-men organisation directly intervening in gender-based violence against women. Sadani admits that he is influenced by her more than by any western thinker.

Savitribai broke yet another taboo when she led the funeral procession of her husband. Even today, the Hindu last rites are considered to be the sacred privilege of men alone. When Jotiba passed away in 1890, warring relatives tried to wrest the rights of performing the last rites away from Yeshwant, faulting his parentage. Savitribai took the ‘titve’, or the funeral mud-pot, herself and led the procession.

Even the fear of death did not deter this brave woman from doing what she felt was right. In 1897, when the plague hit Pune, she was at the forefront. She even carried young Pandurang Babaji Gaikwad, a 10-year-old boy, from Mundhwa to the clinic strapped to her back. Ironically, he beat the infection but Savitribai caught it and in March 1897, she breathed her last.

“Every Indian woman who is educated today owes Savitribai a debt of gratitude,” sums up Sushama Deshpande, whose play has now been adapted by many and is preformed extensively to packed houses, adding,

Not a single performance goes by without a few women coming backstage to tell me how watching the play has helped them find solutions to their personal problems. She epitomises the aspirations of women even 150 years after she burst on the scene.

Today, the school Savitribai had set up is part of Pune’s ‘heritage’ walk, a reminder that her legacy needs to be carried forward for the generations that follow.

Started five years ago, Educate Girls aims to get as many girls as possible into school so they can benefit from a good education, improve their lives and become an asset to their communities. And what started with just 500 schools has now spread to 4425 schools! Safeena Husain, the founder and Chief Executive Officer, tells us all about it.

Educate Girls started five years ago when Safeena Husain decided to promote girls’ education in rural Rajasthan. She designed a sustainable model where the whole community works hand in hand to enroll girls into government schools. As the whole community was meant to take part into the process, it was meant to succeed. No wonder, the number of school rose from 500 schools in 2008 to over 4,425 schools currently!

Educate Girls has designed a sustainable model where the whole community works hand in hand to enroll girls into government schools.

Safeena Hussain has always been committed to girls’ education in India and has worked extensively in this field even in the third-world countries of South America, Africa and Asia. The lady has been born and brought up in New Delhi and holds a B.S. from the London School of Economics. She has also been elected as one of the Asia 21 Young Leaders by the Asia Society. When asked about how and why she became so concerned about girls’ education, she replied thoughtfully:

I have always felt that when you educate a girl, you end up empowering the whole society. Educated women contribute to improving the whole community; they have fewer and healthier children, are three times less likely to be HIV+ and marry three years later. ‘Educate Girls’ envisions to achieve behavioral, social and economic transformation for all girls towards an India where all children have equal opportunities to access quality education. We started by reforming government schools for girls’ education. The idea was to leverage existing community and government resources so as to improve access and quality of education for 4 million children living in marginalized communities.

We asked Safeena to share about the kind of people who have been associated with ‘Educate Girls’. Has Indian youth and society’s intellectual population come forward to support the cause?

As Educate Girls welcomes all good will, we end up working with a wide variety of profiles. Most of our Team Balika members are young locals who feel strongly about the well-being of their community. They help enrolling girls into schools and assist teachers in the classroom. They usually volunteer with us several years and are well-respected inside their community. We try to open some volunteer positions to students from the cities and get them to participate in our communications campaigns.

In 5 years, Educate Girls has expanded from school rose from 500 schools to over 4,425 schools currently!

Safeena also talked in detail about the TEAM BALIKA initiative.

Team Balika members are educated youth in the village who work as champions for girls’ education and catalysts for school reform. Team Balika animates the principles of ‘My Village, My Problem and I am the Solution’. They are at the core of our work in the field as they spread awareness on the importance of girl child education and strengthen girls enrollment, attendance and school management. We count an average of one Team Balika member per village where we operate.

Educate Girls has achieved tremendous success in Pali and Jalore village of Rajasthan and has recently started operations in Sirohi. In three years’ time, they are aiming at working in 6 gender-gap districts.

That means a total of 1.6 million children will be impacted and a whole society will be changed. Safeena elaborated on future plans:

We are about to open our programs in Sirohi, and will then launch in three other new districts starting in 2014. We rely on the communities and on the local government to scale. We help the villages improve their schools (adding female bathrooms and ensuring drinking water for instance), get parents to feel strongly about their daughter’s education and recruit dedicated volunteers in the field. After the activities are implemented over two years, Educate Girls works to handover the project to the community during the third year. By 2014, we aim to cover as many as 13,303 schools in 6 different districts. This means developing our programs in four new districts and recruiting more than 3,300 new Team Balika members to work in the field.

Educate Girls aims to get as many girls as possible into school so they can benefit from a good education, improve their lives and become an asset to their communities.

It is worth mentioning that Educate Girls has set up a sustainable funding model that requires 2.41 INR per child at the moment but will only require 1.36 INR in 2016 as the costs will be divided by a larger number of beneficiaries. The initiative is financed by government contribution and private funding (individual donors as well as philanthropic foundations) to manage their large portfolio of activities.

In anticipation of rapid budget expansion, the organization has instilled robust accounting, control and reporting systems to accurately measure cash flow, track expenditures and government receivables. Secondly, an impact assessment system has been implemented to track the effectiveness of Educate Girls’ efforts, provide formal reports to current and future donors, and most importantly, enable senior management and the board to improve upon existing implementation by closely monitoring the programs.

A noble initiative like this can never remain unrewarded and unappreciated! Educate Girls is a winner of the 3rd EdelGive Social Social Innovation Honors 2011, The World Bank’s India Development Marketplace award in the same year and the Dasra Village Capital award in 2010. The latest ones include Women Change Makers Award and Rotary’s Anita Parekh Award in 2012. But for Safeena, the biggest award is the public support she has garnered in all these years.

In three years’ time, they are aiming at working in 6 gender-gap district, impacting 1.6 million children.

We all can be a part of this initiative as well; let us come forward to support and promote Educate Girls. We stand up against gender-based discrimination in education because we can empower the future generation of women in India only if we give them quality education.

We may choose to close our eyes but still the truth remains the same – India is now a key destination and transit point for global trafficking of women and girls! Human trafficking has become the 3rd largest illegal industry after the arms and drugs industry. The project coordinator (North) of Rescue Foundation, Mr J R Sharan joins us to talk about the menace of human trafficking.

Would you be amazed if you are told that 90 per cent of the human trafficking in India is internal and those from the most disadvantaged sections, including the lower castes are the most victimized ones?

This fact was recently brought to light by the US State Department report on India. Shamefully, India is now considered to be the source, destination and transit point for men, women and children subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking.

Human Trafficking is India’s 3rd largest illegal trade!

The only saving grace amid such statistics is that we still have NGOs like Rescue Foundation that are working with commitment to rescue, rehabilitate and repatriate victims of human trafficking rescued from different parts of India, Nepal & Bangladesh. All these victims were sold for forced prostitution, a fact told to us by Mr J R Sharan. He is the project coordinator for this NGO in North India and a journalist by profession with more than 25 years of experience.

Established in 2000 by the late Balkrishna Acharya, Rescue Foundation is now managed by his wife Triveni, and is a non-profit, government-recognized and registered NGO working to fulfill its duties to this most neglected segment of our society. Our primary aim is to ensure that women’s human rights are respected, protected, and fulfilled. On an average, our organization helps rescue 300 girls a year. We make sure that after rescue, these women and girls live a life of dignity for which we try to give them necessary training in various vocations and life skills.

Mr Sharan told us that they are the only NGO is New Delhi to rescue 160 girls; all other NGOs lag far behind.

Human trafficking is a serious offence. To combat the problem, we need a consistent approach and dedicated team who is there to track the leads we get from the missing person’s records. Our team investigates relentlessly and conducts rescue raids with police’s help. You can yourself verify how earnestly we have been working on this by checking the records in Kamla Nehru Police Station. And rescue is not the only task we do; rather it is just the beginning. The rescued girls are then brought to our protective home in Boisar (60 kms from Mumbai) where they undergo a medical examination and are given a strict health regime to follow.

The rescued girls are properly taken care of in Boisar Recovery Care Centre

The idea behind all this is to make sure that all these girls are physically and emotionally confident enough to start a new life on their own.

We were also told that many times, the rescued girls turn out to be HIV positive. The NGO has an in-house pathological laboratory and permanent doctors on duty as well who are there to fully take care of the girls. These girls are given a good diet rich in proteins and vitamins like milk, fruits and vegetables which are cultivated by the group members themselves in their Boisar Recovery Care Centre.

Mr Sharan also told us some stark truths of this sex-trade in India.

Believe it or not, India has more than 50 million girls working forcibly in this illegal trade. In New Delhi alone, we have 180 red light areas and every police personnel is aware of it. Yet no action is taken, simply because there exists an appalling nexus between the Politicians, Police and brothel owners. It was due to our acute pressure that we were able to get 13 kothas (brothels) seized in New Delhi.

There is no denying the fact that there are thousands of red light areas in India

The misery does not end here! Mr Sharan had some more facts to share that stare us in the face while none of us has any answer or justification.

Maximum number of trafficked girls falls in the age bracket of 8-10 years and they fetch the highest money for the brothel. And when I talk of money, let me candidly tell you – Sex trade in India has now become Rs 4 lakh crore industry! Out of this huge sum of money involved, a prostitute ends up earning not even 400 rupees every day! So pathetic is the condition of these girls and women that they are not given dinner until they entertain 20 clients a day.

A rescued girl learning computer education with this NGO’s help

Mr Sharan shared stories of girls from well-off families who were duped into this trade by their friend or boy friend!

The world is not at all like a glossy magazine; it is like the front page of a newspaper. But the problem is either we are too busy in negative reporting or too indifferent towards such problems! How much does it take to be a little sensitive towards a helpless girl? Try sitting at New Delhi railway station and you might yourself see 2 or 3 girls being trafficked in front of you. We lack the courage to raise our voice and compassion to empathize with her situation. The world would be a safer place for women if we all try to stand up for the oppressed ones.

Now, don’t we all agree to that!

We thank Mr Sharan for sparing his time to sensitize us about this horrendous crime. Organizations like Rescue Foundation are doing a great job and they are worthy of our maximum support. It’s time to we stood up against human trafficking and made life a little more colourful for those less fortunate than us!

When I was 13,  standing on top of my building terrace was probably the most dangerous thing I did and I would just boast about it to everyone in school. My biggest challenge was to finish the homework on time and the hardest moment was to finish the glass of milk every morning.

While most teenagers are busy getting a new haircut, a new bag at the beginning of the term or fancy outfits for their birthday, Poorna Malavath had something else in mind.  She decided to climb Mount Everest, and became the youngest girl to do so.

When she started her journey to Mount Everest, Malavath  never thought she would be making history. She believed in herself and continued her journey with courage, and this is her story of success, which is an inspiration to every one of us as she became the youngest girl to climb Mount Everest on May 25, 2014. In fact, she missed becoming the youngest climber ever by just one month!

Picture Source

The mountains have always been harsh. From extreme climate to lack of food resources and steep terrain, the journey to Everest is not easy and this is the story of a 13 year old girl who still took the challenge. Malavath climbed 29,029 feet to the highest point on the planet in 52 days.

“I felt proud and shed joyful tears,” says Malavath. She, along with a team of Nepalese climbing guides, reached the summit on May 25 from the northern side in Tibet, as there is no age limit to climb from China unlike Nepal which requires climbers to be at least 16 years old.

Poorna Malavath with her father at a ceremony

Malavath comes from a poor background and has never been on a journey like this before. The young girl hails from a small village in Andhra Pradesh, where the locals have to struggle every day to get even basic necessities like water and electricity. Her tough childhood prepared her for the difficult journey. Her parents, despite being poor dalit farmers in a village, constantly supported her decision to climb.

Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions (SWAEROES) sponsored and helped her to train for eight months for the difficult journey to the mountains as part of its program to encourage underprivileged students.

Take a peek at just 3 minutes of her arduous trek, and imagine what the rest of it might have been like (video by everybodysaysiamfine):

The 52-day steep and dangerous trek required both mental and physical fitness. While she was trekking, she saw dead bodies of six trekkers on the way. This did not beat her confidence and courage as she kept moving forward. “I was shocked! Oh my God..I got some fear,” she says. But , wanting to prove that girls are not weaker than anyone else, she continued her journey even after the news of the death of 16 Sherpa guides.

Eating packaged food for such a long time was the most difficult task for Malavath and she wishes to binge on Daal Bhaat and pickle now.

To commemorate their feat, Malavath (left), along with her fellow climber Anand, left a photo of Dr. Ambedkar and the Indian flag at the peak.

Picture Source

In the future, Malavath wants to become an IPS officer and help people make their voices heard.“I want to become the voice of the people who are scared to stand up for themselves,” says Malavath.

The young lady is on cloud nine as she has made a record which she wasn’t even expecting. “It felt like heaven,” Malavath says.

The mountains spare no one. They are equally tough to a 50-year old man or a 13-year old girl or a 25-year old fitness trainer. Some give up and quit, but those who face their fears and stand tall emerge as winners. Malavath is one of those winners and the nation is surely proud of her.

When Seema’s parents decided to get her married at an early age, she approached her friends and convinced her family to drop the idea. Adolescent Girls Clubs run by ABITA, in partnership with UNICEF, are fighting against many similar cases of child marriage in Assam enabling young girls to dream big. 

Like any adolescent her age, Sangeeta Lohar nurses dreams about her future. A confident 17-year-old, she wants to complete her education and become a nurse one day – hastily clarifying with a smile, “a nurse, not in a tea garden hospital, but in a town”. Sangeeta is lucky. Not every girl her age in her community – Adivasis working in the tea gardens of Assam – are able to live out their childhood and weave dreams for themselves. Among this community, marrying children young has been the common practice for years and is one of the major reasons for its poor social indices today.

Most of the workers in Assam’s tea plantations are tribal migrants from the states of Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. Their ancestors were brought here as labour more than a century ago and they have stayed on ever since. But while Assam’s tea industry has made tremendous progress over the years and reaped profits both in India and abroad, the situation of the workers who constitute its backbone remains dismal.

Rupali (left) and Anita are a part of the new voice in the tea garden community. They have stood up against child marriage. (Credit: Azera Rahman\WFS)

Ignorance, illiteracy, poor health, and poverty plague the community and the prevalence of child marriage is only a reflection of this. Moni Komar, a tea garden worker in Assam’s Sonitpur district, on the north bank of the River Brahmaputra, provides a glimpse into the local reality, “Girls, once they are 15 or 16, can work in the tea garden and earn some money for their families. From an early age they are taught to cook, wash dishes and clothes, and look after their siblings. So parents feel that their daughters are ready for marriage by the time they reach that age.” Moni herself was married at 17 – one year below India’s legal age of marriage – and she is already a mother of two at 20.

According to government data, although the prevalence of child marriage in Assam, at 40 per cent, is lower than the national average of 43 per cent (source: Unicef), there are pockets, such as the tea gardens, where the levels are much higher. A study by the Assam Branch of the Indian Tea Association (ABITA) in one of the most tea garden intensive districts of the state, Dibrugarh, found that one-fourth of all respondents (4,100 parents) felt that it was appropriate for girls to marry between the ages of 14 and 18.

Why are child marriages the preferred option for the community? The reasons are varied. For one, as Moni pointed out, girls here are considered better suited for work in the gardens, like the plucking of leaves, and are easily employed by the time they hit their teens. Once they become wage earners they are deemed to be of marriageable age.

Poor levels of schooling is the another important factor. Tea gardens have schools that run only up to the primary level. For the higher classes, parents have to send their wards to schools further away, which means the girls tend to drop out because of safety concerns. A general dis-preference for daughters adds to the problem. Observes Madan Kishan, medical health assistant of a tea garden hospital in Sonitpur and a member of the community, “The tea tribe community has always preferred male children to female ones. It is the usual argument – girls get married and go away while sons stay and look after parents in their old age. So they are eager to relinquish the responsibility of caring for their daughters as soon as possible.”

The third factor is a curious one, and not very prevalent in other communities. Elopement is a common occurrence here. Teenagers often run away with each other and get married against their families’ wishes. Reveals Anita Lohar, an Adivasi working in the tea gardens, “Elopements take place all the time. My niece, the daughter of my sister, Rupa, was just 15 when she went away with a boy who was around her age from a neighbouring line (demarcated labour colonies in the gardens are termed ‘labour lines’). They came back after a month and their parents had no option but to get them married.”

Rupa blames the mobile phone and “cinema” (read Bollywood movies) for this trend. “Our neighbour’s daughter also eloped. She was 16. This is why girls should be married before they can make such mistakes,” she observes bitterly.

The repercussions of child marriage, especially for girls, are extremely adverse. With early marriage comes early pregnancy, putting the lives of both the mother and baby at risk. According to Sandip Ghosh of ABITA, the mean age of motherhood for girls in the tea gardens is 19.3 years.

Dr Ziaur Rahman practices in a Sonitpur district tea garden and shares that most adolescent girls and women in the gardens are anaemic because of their poor diets and this, combined with early pregnancy, leads to higher maternal deaths. “Early pregnancy and multiple pregnancies are very obvious factors for the poor health of women here,” says Dr Rahman.

Early marriages have also resulted in several desertion cases. Explains Sarati Kisan, member of a Mothers’ Club, an ABITA initiative to spread awareness on issues of health and well-being, with each club comprising 12 to 15 women, “They get married young and then find it difficult to cope. If the girl becomes pregnant, the boy is not mentally prepared to shoulder the responsibility. Many young women return to their parents’ homes and lead lives of great uncertainty.”

Although it is on a declining trajectory, Assam has still one of the country’s highest maternal mortality ratios (MMR). The latest data puts the number at 328 per 100,000 live births. Mondakini Gogoi, an official at the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) in Assam’s Jorhat district, believes the situation in the tea gardens have pushed up the state’s MMR and IMR (infant mortality rate) levels. “The gardens are our focus area now,” she says.

Members of the Mothers’ Club discuss ways to dissuade young girls and boys from eloping. (Credit: Azera Rahman\WFS)

All hope is however not lost. A positive intervention to tackle child marriage in the tea gardens has been the Adolescent Girls Clubs run by ABITA in partnership with UNICEF. Take the case of Seema, a 14-year-old from a Dibrugarh district tea garden. When she learnt that her parents had decided to get her married, she got in touch with her friend, 13-year-old Rumi, and other members of her club. The girls together met up with Seema’s parents and convinced them of the physical, emotional, and other problems a girl like her would face if married so young.

“Seema’s grandmother was especially difficult to convince but she finally came around. We also told the family child marriage is against the law,” Rumi adds. Today the girls are thrilled to have Seema back in school. According to UNICEF, the clubs in the tea gardens have reported 144 cases of child marriage between 2008-2010, and have successfully stalled 12 of them – something of a feat considering how steeped the community is in this practice.

According to Anita Aind, a 19-year-old of the community who is doing her Bachelors in Education and wants to become a teacher, child marriage continues to take place but in fewer numbers.

“Parents now realise the importance of education. Take my case, my parents continue to work in the garden but ensured that I studied along with my brothers.”

This has also allowed young women like her to dream big. The words of Anita’s friend, Rupali, only go to reiterate this, “I am in Class 12 and want to do a course in nursing. It is because girls remain illiterate that they agree to early marriages. Most girls in our labour line are studying today and you won’t find any cases of child marriage there!”

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia)

Sujata refused to get married before she turns 18 and convinced her family two weeks before the scheduled wedding to wait for the right time. She is one of the many girls who have learnt to say “No” to child marriages in Orissa. All thanks to Kishori Kalyan Samiti, this group of adolescent girls are fighting against child marriage in Orissa. Know more about these brave Samaritans.  

Last year, Sujata Behera, 17, a Dalit girl from Dankeni, a remote village in Kandhamal district of Odisha, did the unthinkable. Just two weeks before her upcoming marriage she told her parents that she had decided not to go ahead with it. The cards had been printed, her clothes had been stitched, and preparations for the ceremonies had nearly been done, so how could she back out? Sujata’s father was livid and told her she had no option but to comply while her mother tried to reason with her to change her mind. But the teenager was firm: she would only marry after she turned 18 and finished her schooling.

Standing by her side the whole time was her special group of friends whose unwavering presence gave her the strength to stand up to her parents. The girls sat the elders down and explained to them why it was such a bad idea for Sujata to get married before her 18th birthday. It was not easy to convince them but finally the family understood their reasons and agreed to put a stop to the nuptials.

Sujata Behera, 17, a Dalit girl from Dankeni, a remote village in Kandhamal district of Odisha, did the unthinkable when, just two weeks before her upcoming marriage, she decided not to go ahead with it. In rural Kandhamal, it’s common for girls it get married once they turn 12 or 13 as there is a general lack of awareness about the severe health consequences of underage marriage. (Credit: Sarada Lahangir\WFS)

Who were these girls that came to support Sujata? Members of the Kishori Kalyan Samiti (Adolescent Girls’ Group) set up in their village with the assistance of the Centre for Youth and Social Development (CYSD), under the Department of International Development (DFID)-supported Global Poverty Action Fund initiative, ‘Improving Maternal Health Status in Six States in India’, launched by Oxfam India in 2012.

Among other things, the all-girl groups created in 34 villages across Kandhamal have given hundreds of teens the power to say ‘No’ to child marriage and save themselves from a lifetime of ill health and the misery of unfulfilled dreams. These days, Sujata is studying in Class 11 and wants to become a social worker. “No one can understand the power of activism more than I. It saved my life and that of many others here. None of us knew that child marriage was a curse that could actually be lifted from our lives if we decided to do something about it,” she states.

It’s very common for girls in rural Kandhamal to get married once they hit 12 or 13. Not only is there a general lack of awareness regarding the law but people are also ignorant of the severe health consequences this regressive social practice has on the youngsters.

“In 2013, volunteers of the CYSD came to our village and motivated us girls to form the Kishori Kalyan Samiti (KKS). A training session was held where we learnt two major things – firstly, girls can suffer many a health problems if they get married before the age of 18, and secondly, the legal age of marriage for girls in India is 18 and for boys, 21. This knowledge really opened my eyes and I made up my mind to refuse marriage. It was a hard decision and even tougher to persuade everyone else to listen to me. In my community, when a girl’s marriage is called off, whatever the reason may be, she is considered unlucky and invariably becomes the subject of gossip and mockery. My parents were adamant because they feared I would become a social pariah. But the backing of all my KKS friends was instrumental in changing their outlook,” shares Sujata.

As per statistics of the United Nations, 720 million women in the world today have been married before they turned 18. Of these, a third lives in India – roughly 240 million. Coming to Odisha, the District Level Health Survey-3 (DLHS-3/2007-08) reveals that 37.5 per cent of the currently married women in the age group of 20-24 years have tied the knot before the legal age limit. And in the extremely backward and tribal-dominant district of Kandhamal, the percentage of girls being pushed into child marriage is 35.5. A host of complex socio-economic problems, including abject poverty and a poor female literacy rate – less than 30 per cent among tribal women – contribute to these dismal numbers.

In an otherwise bleak scenario, it is the girls’ groups formed in the three blocks of Tikabali, Chakapada and Khajuripada that have brought much-needed hope to its 511 members, who want a different future for themselves. According to Anil Rout, district coordinator of CYSD, the process of forming the Samitis had started nearly two-and-a-half years back as part of efforts to strengthen another people’s group, the Gaon Kalyan Samitis, which had been constituted under the National Rural Health Mission, to improve the living conditions in the rural areas.

“Once the KKSs were formed we sat with them to discuss health issues and other problems related to early marriage. Initially, the girls were reluctant to talk openly so we involved the anganwadi worker and Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA). Through stories and pictures we conveyed the ill effects that child marriage can have on their health, particularly early pregnancy that can be fatal for both mother and child. These meetings were followed up by a two-day training where we taught them simple ways to maintain good health and hygiene. Gradually, our small effort turned into a revolution of sorts. From various project villages we regularly got the news of some girl or another raising her voice against child marriage,” he informs.

Sunita Digal, 15, a Scheduled Caste girl from Rajikakhol village, with her mother, Gelima. The older woman is really happy and proud that her daughter is part of the Kishori Kalyan Samiti in the village, an all girl group that is helping teens to say no to child marriage. (Credit: Sarada Lahangir\WFS)

Like Sunita Digal, 15, of Rajikakhol village, who said no to marriage at 14 and even threatened to hand over the groom’s family to the police if they didn’t agree. Says Sunita, who belongs to a scheduled caste community, “I had lost my father, a daily wager, when I was four. My mother had to step out of home to earn a living to support us three siblings. When someone approached her for my marriage last year she was only too willing to send me away because it would have meant one lesser mouth to feed. But I guess I was destined to be saved. The knowledge I had gained from my interactions in the KKS proved to be useful. When I explained to my mother how early marriage could endanger my health, my life, she realised her mistake. But there was a much bigger problem before us.”

As there was no male member in their family Sunita’s mother, Gelima, was afraid to broach the subject with the groom’s family directly. “When they came to finalise everything my mother hesitatingly told them but they indirectly threatened us. So my Samiti friends met with them to put across our point of view.

When they tried to dismiss us, we told them clearly that if they forced my mother we would inform the police. At that juncture something unexpected occurred. Some of the village elders backed us and that resulted in an amicable resolution to the issue. My wedding has been postponed till I turn 18,” elaborates the youngster who is back in school studying in Class Nine.

Remarks Gelima, “Despite being a victim of child marriage myself, due to social pressures I was ready to let my daughter go through the same hardships that I am facing till date. Thankfully, I realised my mistake. I am proud that my daughter is part of a group that stands up for what’s right.”

A large part of the group’s work is to keep a check on each other’s well-being, too. During their once-a-month meeting they chat about ways to prevent anaemia, how to maintain proper hygiene, and the right foods to consume to remain in good health. The older girls are informed about HIV/AIDS and the importance of contraception. Every Saturday, they even congregate at the anganwadi centre to pick up their weekly quota of free iron tablets.

Truly, the Kishori Kalyan Samitis are proving to be the gateway to a good life for their spirited members.

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).

Sita was kidnapped, raped and thrown on a railway track. Abandoned by her own mother, she found a new life in a school which is empowering disadvantaged girls like her to dream big and start a fresh chapter in their lives. 

Sitting on a wheelchair Sita, 20, is a picture of courage and determination. Looking at her bright, smiling face, one can never imagine that this simple girl from Fatehpura village in Chittorgarh district of Rajasthan has been to hell and back. Kidnapping, gang rape, physical disability and abandonment – the youngster has faced each of these horrific situations with fortitude and emerged a stronger person. Not one to be cowed down, she not only fought for justice and sent her violators to prison but today she is trying to rebuild her life from scratch.

Before her life went into a downward spiral Sita used to work as a labourer at a construction site near her home to help her widowed mother make ends meet. Once, she had a huge fight with a co-worker who threatened to teach the youngster a lesson. She wasn’t afraid of anything in those days too and so she dared him to trouble her.

Sita, 20, overcame her disability and a dreadful past to
turn to education and give a new lease to her life. (Credit: Annapurna
Jha\WFS)

Enraged by her defiant attitude, the man got together with a few of his cronies, one of whom was the sarpanch (village head) of Fatehpura, and abducted her one evening as she was heading back home from work. For Sita, this was just the beginning of her ordeals. The men didn’t stop at just kidnapping her; they raped her for a few hours in a moving vehicle. Then apprehensive that she would complain to the police, the culprits threw the unconscious girl on the railway tracks.

Sita would have died that night had it not been for an alert train driver, who saw her just in time, although not before her legs came under the engine wheels. The good samaritan even arranged for her be rushed to a hospital in neighbouring Udaipur right away where she received medical treatment for three months. Unfortunately, while her life was saved she lost her legs, as they had to be amputated. At the same time, a case was filed and the criminals were put behind bars. During this trying time, Sita’s mother looked after her and then took her back home once she was discharged.

Sadly, her mother’s love and good intentions couldn’t transcend the reality that Sita was now disabled and not just needed constant care but was of no real ‘use’ to her. She could no longer work to support her.

“It was difficult for me to come to terms with the fact that my mother’s concern for me was not unconditional. I had become a burden for her and all she was interested in was the money. She wanted to keep the entire compensation amount of two lakh rupees I had got from the authorities under her control. And because she felt that this was not enough money for her to sustain a physically challenged girl life-long, she was trying to strike a deal with those who had destroyed me in exchange for their release from jail. I refused to comply and take back my complaint so she decided to leave me,” shares Sita, her voice not once letting in on the pain she felt on being abandoned by her own mother.

Adversity teaches a person a lot and Sita decided to boldly face any challenge that came her way. Aware of her rights and not afraid to speak out, she filed a police complaint against her mother, too. However, there was one basic problem before her – she had nowhere to go. Since there was no shelter home available for a girl like her in Chittorgarh, the police brought her to Prayas, a non-government organisation working in the region to help disadvantaged communities secure their health rights. And that is how she landed up at the Adharshila Awasiya Vidyalaya, a residential school being run for poor tribal girls.

Many child brides have decided to come out of the clutches
of forced matrimony to pursue their dreams by educating themselves in
schools. (Credit: Annapurna Jha\WFS)

Being at Adharshila was the best thing to happen to her, as it introduced her to books, which are her constant companions today. In fact, having cleared her bridge course Sita has secured admission in Class Eight at the nearby government-run Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV).

“I am very happy when I am in school. I have many friends there. Every day, I am learning something new from my books. Besides this, I am also learning how to stitch clothes so that I can become independent later on. Yet, whenever there is holiday and the other girls excitedly go home I come to the hostel at Adharshila school… I do admit that there are times when I do miss my home but I have no regrets as I enjoy my time here as well,” she says.

Incidentally, inspired by her courage, a German journalist visiting the school has helped her in getting artificial limbs that have improved her mobility considerably.

Of course, Sita is not the only girl at Adharshila whose struggle is awe-inspiring. The school, which was set up in 2008 to improve the level of education among the scheduled tribe girls in the area – their literary rate at the time was just three per cent – has many who can easily give valuable life lessons to their counterparts in the city. Being at Adharshila has given each of them the hope for a better future.

“Prayas has started this school with hostel facilities to help young girls get used to studying in a formal classroom environment before they are sent to regular government school three years later to complete their schooling till Class Five. Thereafter, they get admission into the Kasturba Vidyalaya from where they pass out after Class 12,” informs Suman, warden at Adharshila hostel, which is presently housing 56 girls.

Apart from learning fundamental subjects such as Hindi, English and maths, the school also regularly conducts recreation activities to ensure their pupils’ all round development. But even greater than imparting knowledge is the fact that the school allows these girls to dream.

Arti Banbari, 10, whose father is in jail for murdering two persons after a drunken brawl, is working hard at school because she wants to join the police force when she grows up. Her two elder sisters, who were also at Adharshila, are studying at Kasturba Vidyalaya these days. Kesar, whose father died and mother left her to restart her life with another man, wants to become a teacher, as do Sheela, Mamta and Reena. Vijaylakshmi, 10, who has seen her mother blatantly choose between her brother and she, excels in sports and wants to become a nurse in order to be able to serve others.

All the young tribal girls enrolled at the Adharshila
Awasiya Vidyalaya in Chittorgarh have awe inspiring stories of
struggles and triumphs to share. (Credit: Annapurna Jha\WFS)

These may be simple ambitions in the eyes of most people, but for these children, who come from families where no member has ever sat in a classroom, it is definitely a big leap. If these determined youngsters do go ahead and become independent professionals it would work wonders to transform the attitudes and beliefs of the entire community – that still doesn’t see any point in sending girls to school and, in fact, staunchly adheres to adverse traditions like child marriage, which is rampant in the region.

Adharshila, too, has its share of child brides though they are obviously more fortunate than most. Pushpa, 9, was married when she was just a baby. She has been studying at Adharshila for last three years. While her husband, who is 15, is working in Ahmedabad, she hopes to be a game changer for everyone in her community by becoming a doctor. Then there’s Neeru, 11, who has managed to hold off going to her marital home with the support of her teachers, who have convinced her parents to wait till she can become “lady police”.

Truly, this is a school where hopes soar, dreams come true – and little girls learn to break free of their social shackles to become confident women.

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).

A 15 days long camp has enabled shy and timid girls to come out in the open, be confident and look at the world with a new perspective. From providing life skills, decision making power and spoken English training to enabling them to dream big and become more confident, VOICE 4 Girls is giving a new voice to thousands of adolescent girls.

Mansa, an adolescent girl who never stepped out of her village, is a different person now. She has not only been rallying against child marriage in her village but has also written a book about the challenges faced by a girl.

The girl who was once so shy that she would not even speak up, now addressed a UNICEF conference on educational programming for adolescents in Bangalore. And all of this was made possible by a summer camp of just 15 days!

She spoke about the ordeals of adolescent girls in rural India and the solutions needed.

From teaching spoken English to life skills, VOICE 4 Girls empowers adolescent girls to speak up.

Summer and winter camps are usually considered a thing for the elite, when kids have vacations and they are sent off to the camps to get that extra edge over others. From basic hobbies like dancing and singing to unique interests like horse riding, the camps offer a huge range of activities.

But did you know that a summer camp can be much more than just an extra-curricular activity and become a tool to transform the lives of underprivileged kids? VOICE 4 Girls is one such platform that enables young adolescent girls to get access to critical knowledge, life skills and spoken English to help them become the decision makers of their lives.

“We believe that these adolescent girls can be the agents of change. If we educate one girl, it changes a whole family and community,” says Anusha Bharadwaj, executive director, VOICE 4 Girls.

What started as a small initiative by three IDEX fellows in 2011 is now a movement which has positively impacted the lives of thousands of other girls like Mansa. With an interesting model that works with government and low-cost private schools, the NGO has managed to reach out to over 11,500 underserved kids so far.

The girls become more confident by the end of the camp

The camps are organized twice a year; once in summer and once in winter. They take place in Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The average camp lasts for two to four weeks. Every camp has volunteers working as counselors and field coordinators who are paid a stipend for their services. College students and teachers are selected as the counselors and coordinators who get an opportunity to work closely with the students and to become their role models.

“The students get more attached to them and are more inclined towards the field coordinators as compared to regular teachers because there is a smaller age difference. The students can relate to them, can be more open with them and aim to become like them,” says Sharanya Gautam, development & communications officer, VOICE 4 Girls.

Her Voice

This camp focuses on girls aged between 11 to 16 years. This camp helps the girls to come out of their shells and look at their life in a different light. Various community-based activities expose the girls to new people and places, and expose them to life skills such as problem-solving, negotiation and decision-making along with the basics of communication in English.

By the end of the camp, the girls are much more confident, active and independent. They are eager to learn new things and are open to raising questions about various social norms.

A huge transformation is seen within 15 days of the camp.

Sakhi Peer Leadership

Once a girl has attended the ‘Her VOICE’ camp, she is eligible for the Sakhi Peer Leadership programme. After the camp ends, the Sakhis can go back to their schools and lead sessions for other girls with the help of a specially designed curriculum.

Sakhis are given additional instructions and leadership skills in the camps so that they can individually run Sakhi sessions during the school year. “The girls who are not able to be a part of the original camps can benefit from the Sakhi sessions at their schools. This way, a girl can independently change the lives of several other girls without any external help from the Her VOICE team, though they do get some support through the year-long monitoring,” says Gautam.

United VOICE

This programme is held for both girls and boys aged between 11 and 16 years. “This camp was started to bring concepts of gender empowerment and social equality into the picture. If we want the entire society on the same page, it is important to bring both girls and boys together and let them interact with each other,” says Bharadwaj.

This six to eight days long camp focuses on careers, higher education and imparting life and communication skills along with teaching both the genders to respectfully and openly interact with one another.

VOICE 4 Girls’ unique model works around residential government and low-cost private schools. The curriculum is designed in a way to leave a long term impact on the girls’ lives and knowledge which they can practically implement in real life situations.

The enthusiastic field coordinators and counselors make the camp fun for these girls.

The organization partners with various agencies to customize the content according to the girls’ needs. They mainly focus on three areas:

1. Critical Knowledge and Life Skills: This section includes crucial topics like health, safety, future planning and exposure. The girls are educated on subjects ranging from nutrition, menstruation, hygiene, HIV and child birth to harassment and higher education through various exposure visits and counselling. They are also taught about their rights, self awareness, problem solving, decision making and negotiation skills.
2. Spoken English: This area deals with imparting basic English communication skills to the girls which can be useful in getting them better job opportunities and career options. From improving grammar and vocabulary to a better understanding of phrases and everyday communication, this section aims at building the confidence of the girls.

The impact is measured by a pre- and post-camp assessment. “The positive change that we have seen in girls is commendable. Within 15 days their perception of the world changes and they become much more confident persons. Not only the campers but also the counselors see a drastic change in their lives!” says Bharadwaj.

When the camp begins, the students are mostly shy and quiet. But, by the time camp ends, each one of them speaks confidently in front of strangers. With an exposure and a glimpse of the bigger world, these girls are able to expand their horizons and present their thoughts openly.

“I remember once I went to one of the camps where I asked the girls what they would like to become and they gave me answers like IAS officers and doctors. Next day, when I came back to the town, I received several calls and messages from these girls seeking guidance on how they can prepare for these exams and what will it take to become an IAS officer. This is the kind of commitment and passion these girls show once they are exposed to the world of opportunities,” says Gautam.

VOICE 4 Girls has reached out to 200 schools so far and they are aiming to target more in the coming years. “I have seen the girls coming out of their shells and it keeps us going,” says Bharadwaj.

The girls can go back to their schools after the camp and can teach other girls too.

The organization plans to conduct more camps for both girls and boys to make it more inclusive. They are also planning to extend their reach to other states as well in the next couple of years.

In addition to this, they plan to reach out to day-schools too in the near future. “We currently focus mainly on residential schools. Reaching out to the regular day-schools is next on our agenda, apart from empowering as many kids as possible,” Gautam says. They also plan to organize regular camps all year round instead of doing it just twice a year.

It is amazing to see how a 15 days course can transform a life. The organization is indeed giving a much needed voice to marginalized girls.

Know more about their work by visiting their website. You can also contact Sharanya Gautam for more updates at – sharanya@voice4girls.org

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia)

Why are girls not given an equal opportunity to study and progress like their brothers? Watch this heartwarming and thought provoking video that answers all the questions and shows how educating girls can create a larger impact. 

Shalu’s family could only afford to educate one child. Hence, her brother was sent to school while she stayed at home to help her mother in daily chores.

Shalu is not the only girl who has sacrificed her dreams, career and life for her brother. Even today, when we talk so much about gender equality, there is a large number of girls who are deprived of a basic right like education.

From childhood to old age, a woman’s life just fades away under the shadow of the male members of the family.

Here is a heartwarming video that not only shows a bitter reality but also provides the solution that an educated girl can bring a larger change.

“Educate a boy and you educate an individual. But educate a girl and you educate a community.”

Watch the thought provoking video here -

This video was originally published by The Pixel Saga Studios here.

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).

Here is a beautiful and inspirational video by UNICEF India on the importance of the girl child and the vital role a father plays in her life. Extra points to the peppy music and lyrics!

Father and daughter share a unique bond which is difficult to describe. And this bond is all the more important because in many cases, the father takes most of the decisions in the family.

Whether it is getting her married to the right partner or sending her off to college, a father’s opinion is the most important one for every girl. He is the hero of her life.

But sadly, even now across the country, daughters have to fight for even basic rights like education and equality.

An amazing video by UNICEF beautifully showcases what a father-daughter bond should be like. UNICEF launched the ‘baap wali baat’ song to mark the International Day of the Girl Child as part of their #ItStartsWithMe campaign, which aims at raising awareness about different forms of violence, including physical, emotional, sexual and child abuse .

 So, all you fathers, do you have the “Baap waali Baat”?

Watch the heartwarming video here -

The video was first published by UNICEF India here.

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).

What started with four students is now a huge residential school that is changing the lives of hundreds of visually impaired girls. It not only provides a safe haven and quality education, but also find suitable life partners for the girls when are of marriageable age!

Ayesha, a visually impaired grade 10 student, talks about her ambitions in fluent English and shares how her life has changed over a period of time. “I knew nothing. I could not even speak properly. From alphabets to basic communication, I struggled with everything,” she says.

She joined Andh Kanya Prakash Gruh (AKPG) and you can see the change for yourself. Not only does she sound confident but she openly talks about her ambitions and dreams. “I love reading and want to become an English teacher!” she exclaims.

Andh Kanya Prakash Gruh has a huge ground where students can play and excercise.

She bids goodbye with a smiling “Have a nice day”, and leaves for her class. Ayesha is one of hundreds of girls whose lives have taken a positive turn ever since they joined AKPG, an NGO that specifically works with visually impaired girls.

Started by Nilkanth Rai Chatrapati in 1954 when he saw the poor state of education for visually impaired girls, AKPG’s main objective is to impart quality education and make the girls lead an independent and responsible life. What started with just four students is now a huge residential school that hosts around 200 girls and has a well furnished building in one of the best locations in Ahmedabad city.

“It was a humble attempt to start something for visually impaired girls with a donation of Rs. 10,000 by Mr. Chatrapati. But it is overwhelming to see how much it has grown and the way the girls have turned out,” says Smita, project coordinator at AKPG.

A residential school till standard eight, AKPG educates the girls through Braille and also helps them develop various life skills that can make them self-dependent.

Imparting life skills is an important part of the school.

“Girls who study above the eighth standard also live here but they go to a regular school and college,” says Smita. Apart from regular classes, the girls also learn various arts and crafts like tailoring, home science, weaving, etc that would enable them to earn some income in the future.

The girls make mouth-watering chikkis (sweet bars) – within two moths they were able to sell chikkis worth Rs. 6,00,000. Not only sweets, the girls also make amazing diyas (lamps) on Diwali and are getting trained in beauty parlour work

The girls who joined school under depression and various debilitating circumstances are now going places, some of them even enjoying enviable careers in banking, teaching, etc.

Girls have given several performances and even won many prizes.

The team of 20 teachers make sure that girls embrace their presence and become more confident. They are encouraged to participate in various competitions. Students of AKPG often win the first prize in Braille reading and writing competition.

Some students pursue vocational courses available in local institutes where they can learn physiotherapy, beauty care, use of Braille computers and telephone operating skills.

The 10,000 ward building has sufficient space for a hostel building, a place of worship, a playground with a reasonably large lawn and a special park where the children can enjoy nature, play games, do free-hand exercises, take yoga lessons and partake in cultural activities.

Picnics and exposure visits are regular activities and the school also helps the girls to find suitable life partners when they are of marriageable age.

AKPG also finds suitable life partners for the girls when they are of marriageable age.

While initially it was a challenge to keep the students engaged, the school has now become a loving home where girls feel free and liberated and can experiment with various interests and skills.

“In certain jobs, our girls do face a challenge because of their disability. Like in beauty care jobs, they give amazing massages but cannot do eyebrows. These girls are really talented and we constantly look for the right opportunities to make them self-dependent,” says Smita.

AKPG’s goal is to make the girls understand they there is nothing that they cannot do. “We advise each one of the girls to believe in herself and to know that she can do everything, and that we are here to help her out with that,” says Smita.

The residential school takes care of all the needs of the girls.

In the future, AKPG wants to get more students and organize more activities for them. Also, in case you are in Ahmedabad, the school is looking for volunteers and teachers to spend some time and teach the students. If not, you could always help AKPG with monetary help and donations to get more resources for the girls.

To know more about the school’s work, contact Smita at – akpgschool@gmail.com or check out their website.

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).

Away from home, the tribal girls of Odisha are now educating themselves and dreaming big. Their new residential school is like a family which is enabling them to prepare for higher studies and a better life.

Till a few years ago, Suggi Mankadia was leading a very different life. The eldest of four siblings, the teenager who belongs to one of the most primitive tribal communities living in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha, used to work from dawn till dusk helping out her mother in completing domestic chores and then sitting down to roll ‘beedis’ (country cigarettes) with her to augment the household income.

Never once had she thought that she would be able to step outside her home and get an opportunity to study in school. After all, there were not many in her community who had seen the inside of a classroom. From their parents’ home, where the girls were expected to do housework once they grew up, they went straight to their marital home where it was more or less the same, only with additional responsibilities and burdens.

Then one day, Santosh Sahoo, a social activist and community mobiliser, came to her home and spoke to her parents, both daily wagers, about sending the youngster to a special residential school in the area.

Away from their home and all that is familiar to them, the tribal girls are truly well taken care of by the teachers and staffers at Udaan, a residential school in Mayurbhanj, Odisha. Such support enables them to easily settle down to work hard.

Although Suggi does admit that it was not easy to convince them to let her go off on her own, but when Sahoo told them about how the education was free and that she would eventually be able to earn a better living, they agreed.

“It was the best decision they took, one that has transformed my thinking and enabled me to hope for a brighter future. I now know that illiteracy can only limit one’s horizons. My parents could never have done anything other than be wage workers and my siblings and I would have followed suit had it not been for my stint at my school, Udaan,” she says.

Last year, Suggi passed out of Udaan and was enrolled into Class Six at the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) near her village to complete her studies.

Like Suggi, there are 400 girls from different tribal communities who have got a shot at gaining a decent education thanks to Udaan, a residential bridge school set up by Shikshya Sandhan, a non-profit social organisation working to empower the tribals in the district.

Describing the basic work done at the institution, Anil Pradhan, Member Secretary, Shikshya Sandhan, says, “Udaan is a unique educational intervention designed as a residential camp for adolescent girls in the age group of 9-14, who have either never been enrolled in a school or have dropped out very early. It enables them to complete five years of primary schooling in just one year through a compact and accelerated curriculum. Once they complete the course and pass the Class 5 exam, then we assist them move on to middle and secondary government schools.”

According to Pradhan, most of the pupils at Udaan are those who have “not only borne the brunt of extreme poverty but are also bound by social and cultural compulsions, which force them to take on the role of care-givers to their younger siblings and even assume tough household and livelihood responsibilities”.

Mayurbhanj district is home to 53 indigenous tribal communities, most of which are socially and economically backward. As they battle poverty on an everyday basis, educating their children is the last thing on their mind.

Home to 400 girls from different tribal communities, Udaan, a residential bridge school at Mayurbhanj district, gives each student a much-deserved shot at gaining a decent education.

Nonetheless, whereas some families do manage to send their boys to school, the girls are generally confined to a domestic life, as they learn to do tasks like tending to the livestock, minding their siblings and, at times, even chipping in to make sal leaf plates or beedi to supplement their meagre family income.

“Simply because money is so hard to come by, it is an uphill task to talk tribal parents into sending their girls to school, even it is free of cost. What I have observed during my extensive interactions with them is that tribal parents, too, consider education for girls as a useless activity. They would much rather have them taking care of the home as they step out for work. Initially, we interacted with a few tribal communities to understand their mindset and attitudes towards girls’ education before we got down to working towards bringing about a change,” reveals Santosh Sahoo, who goes from village to village as a community mobiliser for Shikshya Sandhan.

After they enter Udaan, which was set up in 2009, the biggest challenge before the teachers is to give lessons to the girls in the local Odia language. Whereas that is the language used in the government school curricula, these youngsters are used to their own tribal dialects.

Nonetheless, after intensive sessions through the course of the year they are brought up to speed with the basic coursework. Explains Pradhan, “Education in Udaan can be best described as a life changing experience for the adolescent girls, as it provides them with formal education and facilitates in their psychosocial empowerment. While the idea of giving formal education through an accelerated curriculum is to allow them to catch up on the lost time, the aim of psychosocial empowerment is rooted in the belief that if the girls live through experiences that can build their self confidence they, in turn, can become change agents and role models for their own community.”

Away from their home and all that was previously familiar to them, the girls are truly taken care of by the teachers and staffers at Udaan so that they can easily settle down to work hard.

Besides, the intensive curriculum, the talented girls are engaged to take part in various extra curricular activities to aid their holistic development and make learning fun.

Udaan camp coordinator, Snehalata Mahakud, is aware of how vulnerable the girls initially feel and she consciously takes out time to make them feel comfortable and protected. “We understand they are anxious to be away from their loved ones and so we try to give them a safe and loving environment at school. Besides their regular studies, they learn everything from how to maintain cleanliness and hygiene to games as well as cultural activities. These help them to take on leadership roles and develop valuable life skills. In fact, the entire experience of living at Udaan allows them to build their decision-making ability, communicate effectively and understand the physical and emotional changes that they are going through during adolescence,” she says.

Elaborating on the bond that the girls develop with their teachers, Mama Niharika Kundu, a teacher at Udaan, says, “After staying at Udaan for one year when the students are ready to move on for further studies they are always sad and teary-eyed. We nurture them with our love and attention and it is certainly not easy to let go.”

Like Suggi Mankadia, Malati Murmu has become a role model for other girls in her Santal community. Even though she had studied till Class Two in her village, she had to drop out as her mother felt she would be of greater “use” at home. In keeping with her family tradition, she, too, joined her parents in stitching Sal leaf plates which they sold in the weekly haat (market) to earn a few rupees. She was making 50 plates a day and earning Rs 5 for her hard work. These days, however, she has greater ambitions. “I am happy to have got admission into the KGBV in our block. Being at Udaan, I realised how I was missing out things that every normal teen gets to do. There is nothing to stop me from fulfilling my dream of becoming a teacher now,” she says.

If Malati wants to teach when she grows up, Suggi aspires to be the Sarpanch (village head) of her hamlet and provide good governance to her people. Both of them loudly acknowledge that only education can give them the future they so passionately yearn for today. Udaan has certainly given them wings to fly high and achieve their goals.

(This article is part of   U.N. Women’s Empowering Women — Empowering Humanity: Picture It! campaign in the lead-up to Beijing+20.)

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).

Parents from across the state have to click selfies with their daughters and send it to Jaglan through WhatsApp as part of this contest.

“June 19th is my birthday and every year I do something related to women empowerment on this day. This year I was thinking of doing something unique and then I thought to myself: since the selfie is such a big craze these days, with PM Modi to youngsters clicking it, why not use it for an interesting project?” says Jaglan.

Jaglan has already received over 500 entries, not just from Haryana but from other states of the country as well.

“Whenever we visit homes in the village, there are not many photos of a girl child in the house. To give girls their due place in the family and the society, we thought of bringing them into one frame with their families,” he says.

He has given shape to over 100 such small and big initiatives which have touched women issues in many ways including girl child education, female foeticide, pre-natal health and much more.

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).

Pakistan

India

Twitter

With inputs from: Shreya Pareek & Nishi Malhotra

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).

Then when the mid-day meal scheme started in a nearby school Gudiya was sent there just so she would get something to eat – at least her parents had one mouth less to feed.

Being Brahmins this was considered not only sacrilegious by her parents but was also expressly prohibited by local religious heads. Nevertheless, Gudiya managed to coax consent out of her parents and to take classes IN the family verandah.

"I went from house to house collecting children and getting them to class. Their parents were not happy and resisted my entreaties, but I never gave up. Then when a scheme called Child to Child Education was introduced by the New Delhi-based social organisation, Girija Devi Foundation, I signed up for it and attached my school to it. They helped me get books, food and even medical aid, all free of cost, for all those who came to study. Owing to this, support from parents too began to grow," elaborates the inspiring young educator.

What makes this classroom doubly beneficial for the little ones is the fact that those suffering from medical problems can avail of immediate and free treatment, thanks to the added benefits of the Foundation’s education initiative.

There are noticeable changes in the attitude of the local community as well. Says Gudiya, "In the beginning I had faced a lot of ridicule and hostility. Some even threatened me and my family, saying that I was ruining the established way of life in the village. The same people, however, are extending full support today. Earlier, the children were completely neglected - they would not eat food on time, wash or dress properly. There was a lack of sanitation that contributed to illnesses. Since both parents used to get drunk from the morning onwards, there was no one to take care of the kids. It’s a very different story presently. The children have learnt a lot and come to school neat and clean. They know how to take care of themselves and their siblings as well."

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).

This year, the festival took place in the Dhalpur grounds and both men and women were invited to perform and take a pledge to work for the cause of the girl child.

What was unique about the dance party was that the oldest member was an 85-year-old lady named Bali Devi, while the youngest was a 16-year-old visually challenged girl, Nand Kala.

Photographs courtesy: Urmil Lata

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).

What makes the Bedia community unique is their age-old tradition of introducing girls to prostitution at a young age.

But thanks to Samvedna's intervention, not only did she refuse to become a prostitute, Ragini also left her village to go to Bhopal and finish her studies.

“The Bedia children, both boys and girls, had their own reasons to neglect education. The boys grew up seeing their elders dependent on earnings that the women brought home from engaging in prostitution. The girls were raised with two options only – get married or become a prostitute. In marriage, the woman’s role is decided already – cooking and serving the family. Education isn’t an option,” says Sagar Sahu, Programme Manager, Samvedna.

The Samvedna team believes education is the best way to engage Bedia girls, who might otherwise enter the sex trade.

“However, another issue was that these kids did not have fathers’ names. Schools refused to enrol them without a father’s name. This is where we intervened again and asked them to enrol kids using just their mothers’ names,” says Sagar.

Samvedna currently takes care of all the educational needs of 14 children from the community, out of which eight are girls and six are boys.

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).

“We focus on adolescent girls because about 25 percent of India’s population falls into the age group 10-19. They will shape the future of our nation,” says the GPower team.

GPower uses the power of mobile and cloud technologies to track the condition of these girls and provides real time analysis to spot trends and take corrective measures in a timely, dynamic manner.

“NGOs and other organisations will provide support only when they are aware of the issue. It is very important to track the needs of the girls on time. And the extensive questionnaire and indicators help us understand this,” says Indrani Bhattacharya, Assistant Director, CINI.

Masuda*, from Cheora village of West Bengal, is one such girl who has benefitted from GPower. She was only 12 years old when her parents sent her to work as a domestic help to a family residing in Andul in Howrah district.

“We were able to help her because we kept a close eye on the family. This was all possible because we did a baseline survey. Otherwise, we would have never found out that there is a girl far from home who is in need,” says Indrani.

GPower’s timely interventions have prevented 15 child marriages among moderately vulnerable girls. In fact, no child marriage case has been reported among the 290 most vulnerable girls as a result of regular checks.

“There are many cases like this where we were able to take the right actions before it was too late,” says Indrani.

Apart from direct intervention, GPower also provides counselling, vocational training, and coaching to many girls. The organization has started two learning centres where school dropouts can continue their studies.

 * Name changed

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).

While a majority of those who go in for adoption don’t have any biological children of their own, today, there is a growing trend of couples with one child being keen on adopting a girl as their second one.

“I work in the social sector and am more than familiar with the biases that a girl child faces, especially in north India. The skewed sex ratio in states like Haryana and Punjab is proof enough of the deep-rooted prejudice. Maybe it is because of this that I felt a social responsibility and had the strong urge to adopt a baby girl,” shares Vishwanathan, who is in her late thirties.

Unlike Saumya and Ranjith, for Meenakshi Padmanabhan and her husband, Rajiv, the decision to go in for adoption came when they were unable to conceive even after 15 years of marriage.

It’s certainly good news that when it comes to adoption a greater number of girls are being placed into loving homes nowadays. Yet, at the same time, it does indicate that girls are still being abandoned and put up for adoption.

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).

All credit goes to Virendra’s unique model of education that made these girls ‘assets’ to their families instead of ‘burdens.’ But how did he make this possible?

“I was finding solutions for the world but not for problems faced by my own country. What was the point? So, I took voluntary retirement from my job and came back to India,” says Virendra.

He started to give Rs.10 every day to every girl who continued to attend school Class 6 onwards.

“It was important also that the girls remain healthy. If they don’t take care of their health, how will they concentrate on studies or do other things in life? So we launched a meal programme,” says Renuka from PPES.

The meal programme of PPES gave three full, healthy meals to the girls every day.

“Ok, so we had now cracked how to bring the girls to school. But the question was, what next? What will they do after school? That is when we started vocational training and skill development classes too,” says Renuka.

A popular project launched by PPES involves constructing toilets in the homes of girls who have more than 70% attendance in school.

“The idea is to ensure that women do not depend on anyone else. And we have seen the change in their attitude, their lifestyle. The girls and women are more confident now, they speak up, ask questions, and are not scared to fight for their rights. Above all, they are no more a liability to their families and are choosing the age of their marriage by themselves” says Renuka.

About HCL Grant

Like this story? Or have something to share? Write to us: contact@thebetterindia.com, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter (@thebetterindia).