Young Indian Women Urge Parents to Send Daughters to School
2020-03-18
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1Wasima Khan stopped attending school six years ago.
2 She has yet to complete her studies.
3The 19-year-old is not an exception.
4She is like many other young women in Nuh, where she lives, in northern India.
5Only about 30 percent of the women there can read and write.
6That is about half the national average.
7Wasima Khan left school because she had to do housework and help her mother with younger brothers and sisters, she said.
8And there was no middle school in her community.
9At the same time, boys living in Papika, in Haryana state, walk to the nearest high school, about four kilometers away.
10Yet girls are not permitted to leave the small village.
11In Papika, many of the women work in fields or care for farm animals.
12Young girls get water, while children play.
13Men often sit outside their homes in the sun after a cold winter.
14A group of young women from this mostly Muslim community made it to college by overcoming prejudices against women.
15Now they are working to get more girls into school.
16Every Sunday they spread out in Papika and other villages to talk to people about why they should let their daughters study.
17The young women persuaded Wasima Khan's mother to keep her younger daughter at school.
18They ease her concerns about dowries - the money or goods that a woman's family must give to her husband's family when they marry.
19She fears that educated girls will want to marry educated men who will demand a bigger dowry.
20This is a difficult for many poor families who see no reason to educate girls.
21Arastoon is a postgraduate student studying history.
22She says her college education has given her the strength to fight the dowry tradition.
23"I will only marry into a family which does not demand dowry," she said, "however well-to-do they may be."
24The young women tell Wasima Khan that she can return to school.
25As a girl, her goal had been to join India's police force.
26She does not know if she can go back, but she says she will do whatever she can to make sure her sister does not leave school.
27"I loved my classes," she said.
28"But I was helpless."
29A non-profit organization called the Selfie with Daughter Foundation is leading the campaign to empower and education women in these villages.
30Its aim is to bring change by publicizing the success stories of girls who came from the villages and now serve as role models for other families.
31Rizwana Khan began her campaign by persuading her extended family to educate their daughters.
32She tells these women that educated girls could help the villages.
33In some areas, women are not permitted to interact with male lawyers,
34be taught by male teachers or get treated by male doctors.
35Khan is training for a job in health care as a nurse.
36When she was a teenager, she became terribly sick, but her treatment was a problem.
37Her parents could not read and medical centers in the area were very poor quality.
38It made her decide to get her own education.
39Khan said she wants to bring medical aid to women in the area.
40This is a goal her father urged her to go for - even selling belongings to pay for her nursing school.
41"They don't want to educate their daughters, but if women are ill, they want a lady doctor. How will that happen?" Khan said.
42Another girl in the campaign, Shahnaz Bano, wants to teach in a local school.
43She said, "I tell them that if your daughters don't attend schools, how will they find female teachers?"
44It is a message the young women repeat as they go from house to house.
45They point out how they had to fight with their families to get the right to study.
46Sometimes, even when parents agree to let them study, others in the village raised objections.
47Most boys who complete college move away to look for better jobs outside the villages.
48But the girls hope to use their skills and education in the community.
49Anjum Islam is studying law.
50She wants to provide free legal aid to women.
51"I don't want to do that for men," she adds.
52But her bigger goal is to change minds.
53"Here men think that women are only meant to do housework and give birth to children," Islam said.
54"We have to change this thinking. If we have quality under the law, how can society have this gender discrimination?"
55The campaign is having success influencing some women.
56They do most of the work, both at home and in the fields.
57Aslima Khan is 30 years old.
58She is determined to educate her three daughters.
59She wants to make sure they can escape her life story of hard, backbreaking work.
60All day long she works with the animals, finds firewood, cleans, cooks and washes dishes, she said.
61"If I had studied I would have been saved from this."
62I'm Jonathan Evans. And I'm Anne Ball.
1Wasima Khan stopped attending school six years ago. She has yet to complete her studies. 2The 19-year-old is not an exception. She is like many other young women in Nuh, where she lives, in northern India. Only about 30 percent of the women there can read and write. That is about half the national average. 3Wasima Khan left school because she had to do housework and help her mother with younger brothers and sisters, she said. And there was no middle school in her community. 4At the same time, boys living in Papika, in Haryana state, walk to the nearest high school, about four kilometers away. Yet girls are not permitted to leave the small village. 5In Papika, many of the women work in fields or care for farm animals. Young girls get water, while children play. Men often sit outside their homes in the sun after a cold winter. 6A group of young women from this mostly Muslim community made it to college by overcoming prejudices against women. Now they are working to get more girls into school. Every Sunday they spread out in Papika and other villages to talk to people about why they should let their daughters study. 7The young women persuaded Wasima Khan's mother to keep her younger daughter at school. They ease her concerns about dowries - the money or goods that a woman's family must give to her husband's family when they marry. She fears that educated girls will want to marry educated men who will demand a bigger dowry. This is a difficult for many poor families who see no reason to educate girls. 8Arastoon is a postgraduate student studying history. She says her college education has given her the strength to fight the dowry tradition. "I will only marry into a family which does not demand dowry," she said, "however well-to-do they may be." 9The young women tell Wasima Khan that she can return to school. As a girl, her goal had been to join India's police force. She does not know if she can go back, but she says she will do whatever she can to make sure her sister does not leave school. 10"I loved my classes," she said. "But I was helpless." 11A non-profit organization called the Selfie with Daughter Foundation is leading the campaign to empower and education women in these villages. Its aim is to bring change by publicizing the success stories of girls who came from the villages and now serve as role models for other families. 12Rizwana Khan began her campaign by persuading her extended family to educate their daughters. She tells these women that educated girls could help the villages. In some areas, women are not permitted to interact with male lawyers, be taught by male teachers or get treated by male doctors. 13Khan is training for a job in health care as a nurse. When she was a teenager, she became terribly sick, but her treatment was a problem. Her parents could not read and medical centers in the area were very poor quality. It made her decide to get her own education. 14Khan said she wants to bring medical aid to women in the area. This is a goal her father urged her to go for - even selling belongings to pay for her nursing school. 15"They don't want to educate their daughters, but if women are ill, they want a lady doctor. How will that happen?" Khan said. 16Another girl in the campaign, Shahnaz Bano, wants to teach in a local school. She said, "I tell them that if your daughters don't attend schools, how will they find female teachers?" 17It is a message the young women repeat as they go from house to house. They point out how they had to fight with their families to get the right to study. Sometimes, even when parents agree to let them study, others in the village raised objections. 18Most boys who complete college move away to look for better jobs outside the villages. But the girls hope to use their skills and education in the community. 19Anjum Islam is studying law. She wants to provide free legal aid to women. "I don't want to do that for men," she adds. 20But her bigger goal is to change minds. "Here men think that women are only meant to do housework and give birth to children," Islam said. "We have to change this thinking. If we have quality under the law, how can society have this gender discrimination?" 21The campaign is having success influencing some women. They do most of the work, both at home and in the fields. 22Aslima Khan is 30 years old. She is determined to educate her three daughters. She wants to make sure they can escape her life story of hard, backbreaking work. All day long she works with the animals, finds firewood, cleans, cooks and washes dishes, she said. 23"If I had studied I would have been saved from this." 24I'm Jonathan Evans. And I'm Anne Ball. 25Anjana Pasricha wrote this story for VOA. Anne Ball adapted it for Learning English. The editor was George Grow. 26What do you think of this story? Do girls go to college in your hometown? Write to us in the comments section below. 27________________________________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29prejudice - n. an unfair feeling of dislike for a person or group because of race, sex, religion, etc. 30postgraduate - adj. of or relating to studies done after earning a bachelor's degree or other degree 31interact - v. to talk or do things with other people 32ill - adj. not well or health, sick 33gender - n. the state of being male or female 34determined - adj. having a strong feeling that you are going to do something and that you will not allow anyone or anything to stop you