My life was limited to a strict routine of school and home, with no freedom to explore beyond that. I was burdened with household chores and experienced unequal treatment simply because I was a girl. In my family, girls were not allowed to speak up or make decisions.
After seeing me leave the village, more girls have gone to college. Our families don’t understand why they want to go. They think that if they send their girls what will they do with the education?
I want to study further, I will also teach other girls, I want to be self-dependent. Meri khushi has given to that opportunity; it has given me confidence to raise my voice against child marriage and other gender biases of society.
When I was young, my father passed away, and my mother was pregnant. So our financial situation was never good. I never knew when I would have to stop studying.
When I first started teaching there were about 40 students and .it was hard to teach them all. I thought maybe they thought it was too difficult, but then they all came back the next day asking me to teach again, they said we want to learn and play, and they even asked for homework! Now there are 50 kids in my learning center.
I am in class 7. When I went to school I found studying a little bit tough. The teacher would keep telling me to do my work but I didn’t understand, especially in math.
I come from a financially struggling family, and my life has been filled with challenges from a young age. In 2021, after losing my mother, I became the primary caregiver for my infant sibling.
I once thought my education was over after completing my 12th grade. My family was against me studying further but with the help of Vikalp, I constantly had to negotiate with them.
I got married at a young age. I never thought I would be able to continue my education beyond the 12th standard due to a lack of support from my family and in-laws.
