When girls complete school, India grows

Pratibha had a dream. Or was it a shared one of Girish and hers? When her husband Girish died, she promised that she would do whatever it took to fulfill it. Several years passed, and she is still at it. Just a few more years, and she knows her dream will come true. That she already sees it coming keeps her all charged up and going.

Hurriedly she gets out of bed, as dawn breaks at Chuchuhiyaparah, a small locality in the suburb of the Bilaspur Municipal Area, where she lives. A lot is to be done before she goes to work — she has to complete washing, cleaning, and other household chores, prepare breakfast and put that into her daughters’ lunchboxes, stuff something in her stomach, and hit the street — all before the clock strikes six.   

Meet Pratibha Mahilange, the mother of two daughters Geetika and Monika. She is a ‘Cleaning and Hygiene Staff’ – a safai worker at the local municipality. “Ours was a poor family. My husband was a driver and earned just enough to meet the ends. But we had a very big dream — that our daughters should study a lot and achieve what they aspired for. We always wanted to provide the best possible education to our daughters; Girish even worked extra hours for some more money to buy books, exercise copies, pencils, and crayons for them…” Pratibha’s eyes glisten as she recalls the old, cherished memories.

But things came to an abrupt halt as her husband met with a road accident and died. He had been the sole breadwinner for the family, and life seemed to hit a dead end for Pratibha and her daughters. So much so, that continuing with their education became a real challenge.  

She could have discontinued their studies and got them married off once they reached adolescence. That would have been an ‘easy solution’, and none would blame her for that in their society. In a country where only three of every five girls (58.2 per cent) make it to the higher secondary level of education; one of every eight girls (12.25 per cent) of the corresponding age group enrolled in Secondary level drops out and hence does not complete secondary education; and many of the dropout girls end up being married before they are school pass-outs, what more ‘obvious’ option could she have?

Some of her relatives and neighbours even suggested the same… “Biha de do (get them married off)… what else girls are destined for? Bacchi ko padhai se kya hi matlab hoti hai (what’s the use of education for girls)? Surely you don’t want them to become big officers some day? You were married off early when you were still in school, weren’t you?”  

But that was simply out of the question. She didn’t want her daughters to live the life she lived. She wanted them to continue with their studies, attend college, get decent jobs, and live dignified lives. “It’s no life for a girl if she is not educated to stand by herself, and can make financial decisions. How can they run their families if they don’t earn enough? How would they cope financially, if something tragic happened to their families as it happened to me? And, most importantly, if they are not educated, how would they educate their children?”

So, the ‘Mother Courage’ in her took over and shouldered the responsibility as she made a decision. With no prior experience and the lack of proper qualification — she was just a 10th standard pass — it was extremely difficult to find something decent. But she had to, anyway. Some timely support came her way from Mitwa Mahila Kalyan Evam Seva Samiti, a Bilaspur-based grassroots-level non-profit organisation supported by Child Rights and You (CRY) and working with local women and children. With their counseling and support, finally, she secured a job at the Tifra Municipal Corporation, for Rs 700 a month.  

“I am proud of what I do,” Pratibha smiles, “But wish I would have completed my bachelors, so I could get a better job and support my daughters better. Isn’t that reason enough I ensure the best possible education that I can afford to Geetika and Monika?”

And the outcome? Sample this! The younger daughter Monika is presently studying in the 9th standard in a local Government Higher Secondary School, while Geetika, the elder one is pursuing her degree as a second-year BSc student in the Bilaspur Government College for Girls.

Nothing can be closer to the truth. Studies around the world — and our everyday experiences as well — have shown that daughters of working mothers completed more years of education and earned higher salaries compared to daughters of stay-at-home mothers. Not only that, many examples around us prove beyond doubt that when girls complete their education they contribute better to the economic growth of the country. As India takes stronger strides towards a robust growth path, this simple yet profound truth can drive the nation to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty.

“Padhegi, tabhi toh badhegi, na Didi (if they study, then only do they grow, don’t they)?” Pratibha drives the point home with a stunner, as she runs to catch an auto-rickshaw to her workplace.

Are we listening?

Puja Marwaha is CEO at CRY – Child Rights and You    

Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth