Empowering Girls at Shikshit Bharat School

by Akanksha Pandey

B.R. Ambedkar said "the progress of a society depends on the state of its females." 

Apart from the rhetoric of the feminist movement and the blind race of Alpha/Beta - useless and scary men vs woman debate of our times - being a girl child in India has never been easy. I still remember when my mother started teaching in our school there were almost no women teachers. There were also no girls in schools and dropout rates were as high as 95%. 

Slowly people started to see the change.

None of the Dalit girl children were in school those days and even today that low number does not seem to faze. Large tuition fees, expensive books and everlasting family structures lead Dalit girls to workplaces instead of schools and playgrounds. One of every three Dalit teenagers is already working in adult jobs and half of teenage girls are married before they complete the first18 years of their life. 

Education for a Dalit girl is vital in Indian settings since it is not the only obstacle in their journey. 

We at Shikshit Bharat School have been fighting this battle for more than two decades. We have improved in our ways and designs but we still need some shade on our heads. 

One aspect of social change we have developed is public sports competitions. We have organized contests for kids under 18 in two age groups: 11-14 years and 14-18 years. We organize 100m, 200m, and 400m for boys and girls plus a very popular local game called  KABADDI. Our friend Adarsh has been organizing these events for more than 8 years now. 

We believe that apart from the social and economic hierarchy we can create a space for children and youth to be equal and compete with each other with no prejudices. 

This is one of our many campaigns. We also perform a play based on Ambedkar’s life and teachings at many different events. 

We also have a larger plan for at least ten Dalit girls. We will educate them and make them ready for higher education in top institutes and public universities. We are doing one step at a time and slowly covering our marks.