What is most cherished and valued about the rights that we enjoy as citizens of India’s vibrant democracy that has just celebrated another Independence Day? That we can think freely, express an opinion, roam our beautiful country and earn our living, independently—as long as we don’t cause harm to others, in any which way.
Marching ahead confidently in the 21st century, India is on the cusp of superpower status in every sphere. A democracy that is learning, growing, and evolving in every aspect, towards a vibrant future. In a country as huge and as diverse as ours, this process is bound to be a journey of profound learnings, of deep observations and realizations, every step of the way.
As someone who has been working on children’s issues for over two decades now, I see positives aplenty around us. In the rural hinterland across the length and breadth of the country, we work with girls from underserved communities who are filled with determination and spirit to make the most of what they have. They are seemingly enjoying their most cherished freedom—the right to think and believe.
EMPOWERMENT AT CORE
In a remote forested village in Giridih, Jharkhand, 21-year-old Khushboo believes that freedom to think (and choose) is essential. Six years ago, she was just another 15-year-old, doomed to domesticity in a family of five. She was in Class 9 at the time, and quick to realise that what her school, and indeed her community, needed was good teachers. She had made up her mind about what she wanted to be.
Power lies in knowledge and awareness, and that is never only confined to textbooks. While focussing harder on her studies, the then 15-year-old Khusboo joined the adolescent girls’ group in her village, set up by one of our non-profit partners. At the weekly sessions of the group, she learnt about her rights as an adolescent girl, about the need to stop child marriages and child labour in her community and a plethora of life skills that could stand her in good stead. When computer training classes were started for the first time in this remote village, many families were reluctant to enrol their girls. Khushboo was the first to join in—she had an inkling this skill would stand her in good stead in future. When she was in Class XI, around 17, her father found a “good match” for her. Khushboo put her foot down—she wouldn’t get married till she was 18, and would only say yes, if she was allowed to pursue studies after marriage and also work (and earn) in future. When you want something desperately, you get it (they say!). Khushboo did get married, but only after she cleared her Class XII boards. Contrary to popular perception, especially in rural areas, life does not end after marriage—if you can do it the way Khushboo did!
At present, she is pursuing her BA in a Giridih college, and also teaches around 20 kids in community classes. And saving the best for the last, she runs an activity centre owned by her husband, on her own. The computer training, back in her native village all those years ago, has stood her in good stead. So, have the sustained life-skill sessions, awareness talks and knowledge classes.
At 21, a confident Khushboo wants to complete her BA, pursue her B.Ed, and join in one of the local schools as a full-time teacher. Yes, there are daily struggles and adversities. And, it has surely taken a lot of convincing and cajoling to make her husband and family support her vision. For a moment, though, let us pause and salute her undying spirit. The hope is that the “Khushboo” permeates to all her students and imbibes in them the same conviction, to think, believe and live, on their own terms.
RISE AND SHINE
The most precious, yet, often the most denied, isn’t it? Sikha, from a village in Sunderbans, West Bengal, has lived through an unimaginable nightmare for a year. At an age when she should have been studying, playing with friends and dreaming about a future, she was married off to a boy in a neighbouring village, by her own aunt, just for money. She was confined to an unhygienic room, kept unfed, tortured physically and threatened mercilessly. Her “freedom to live” lay in ruins destined to oblivion, till one day she rose and decided that enough was enough! She escaped from her hell-hole, to light and freedom.
This was about a year ago. And what a journey it has been since then! With help and encouragement from a local non-profit, the 16-year-old started attending classes at one of our projects. She was admitted in a local school, and taught herself a reason to live, and believe. Support classes made up for her learning gap, and life-skill sessions helped her become mentally strong.
Sikha attended special sessions where she learned about environmental degradation, global warming, soil erosion and more. She has joined the Green Scouts team in her village and tries to spread awareness about the little things that we can do to conserve our environment. She and her team convince people to plant trees and nurture them. The 16-year-old has stopped the use plastic in her family and she asks the neighbours to do the same.
After all that happened to her, Sikha chose to turn around, because she believed she could. She decided to forget the past, and move ahead.
Khushboo, Sikha and millions like her across the country are learning to empower themselves and live life on their terms. They need us to help them if they stumble, and fall. As we celebrate our hard-earned independence, let us also teach our children and youth, whatever be their background, to look within and realize their own potential to better their lives. May the power always be with them!
Trina Chakrabarti is Regional Director, CRY (East).