“Don’t go near her, she’s at that time of the month!,” a little girl Komal told me oh so casually one day, when we were chatting about her stay in the school where my mother has now been teaching for almost 12 years. The school comes under the Sarva Siksha campaign and is named after the wife of the Father of our Nation: Kasturba Gandhi Awasya Vidhyalaya. Well, for people who do not know, the ‘Sarva Siksha Abhiyan‘ (Education for all) is one the largest educational reforms brought about in India to promote education under Right To Free And Compulsory Education Act (or RTE Act) of 2009, which states that “every child from the age of 6 to 14 regardless of their sex, ethnicity, area of residence should be granted free and compulsory education”.
Okay Great! Sounds amazing!… And this will make you think, “Oh wow, education is of so much importance in India.” But on the contrary, little does everyone know that according to Oxfam India report of 2015, 95% of the schools in India do not comply with the RTE Act.
Just give it a thought: if an Act endorsed in the country is not followed, then how can we expect taboos regarding the education of girl child to be eradicated when the patriarchy has made it sure that it stays for so many years?
In elementary education, the drop out rate of the girl child has been decreasing, but (hold your breaths!) at a decreasing rate, and it only started decreasing 2015 onward (and guess when did we find independence? yeah keep guessing!). According to the UNDP Human Development Report of 2019, the age at which a girl hits puberty is the most common dropout age. In India, this is 11.6 years for females.
Komal was enrolled in Kasturba Gandhi Vidhyalaya when she was 13 years old, and before that, she was a dropout for almost four years after studying in Class V in a local Zila (district) school. When asked about her drop out, she said “I had to look after my three other siblings, and my father did not have enough money to send me to school beyond that. Also, I had hit puberty before age, so my mother said that I should learn the household chores better (there goes the free and compulsory education till the age of 14).”
Now, Kasturba Gandhi Schools are only for girls, with only female teachers, and cover for all their expenses till they pass the 10+2 level of education. Also, under the ‘Samriddhi Sukanya Yojna’ every month, a sum of Rs 100 is deposited in their accounts created under this programme (Well, if only we knew if they were actually accessing these accounts. But how would I know about it? C’mon, it’s my name, duh!).
Also, the RTE Act makes it mandatory for the State to look after basic infrastructure facilities in the school, under which sanitation is one. They’ve started the Udaan programme (to educate on menstrual hygiene), because girls like Komal do not know how to use a sanitary napkin (and they are provided for free in Kasturba Schools). The only thing, even after coming to school, that Komal knows is what all she’s getting for free, and what all she can take back home for her siblings (including the sanitary napkin).
There is lot of scope for education around menses, and removing taboos as absurd as “Do not touch metal objects or go into the kitchen.” Now, people will argue about the scientific reasons behind all these mythological concepts; with all due respect, education and myths do not go hand in hand (haters will say it is fake). Awareness and education can bring about a plethora of changes. Just imagine, if Komal knows that she has the right to study and learn anything for free till she is 14, she’d also know that staying back home to look after her siblings isn’t the only way to look after them.
Just imagine, if she gets to know there is a bank account under her name and is getting a decent amount of money every month, and might decide to become an investor? As I said, just imagine! Because (*sigh*) perfect educational attainment is only a dream.
(Writing this article along with an informed choice of having green tea, because I’m far more privileged than Komal).