This story is of my mother, who couldn’t go for higher education in this patriarchal society but made it a mission to make a change.
We are four sisters. Anybody who would listen to this would assume that my parents were waiting for a son, but it wasn’t them. It was my grandparents who were waiting for it. Even after we were four daughters, unlike others in society, my mother was determined to educate us and make us independent.
She didn’t let us cook, wash our clothes or do anything that would change our ambition. The only thing she asked us was to study and read. She used to wake us up at 4 a.m. and teach us. She didn’t know English, but she made sure we knew the answers to every question in the book.
We were the typical middle-class family. There came a time when there was zero income in my family. We hardly had anything to eat or wear. All the relatives said that there was no need for daughters’ education. “They are going to get married anyways.”
It was my mom who fought for us and made sure we got an education. It was easy to let go, but she didn’t. Right now, three of us sisters are Engineers working in different MNCs, and the other one is working in a bank.
The story is worth telling because my mom has been a strong pillar in our lives. Even now, when we all are married, she doesn’t let us bend to the rules of society. She has taught us to be headstrong. Given a chance, she would have won the world.
It would be great even if a single person got inspired by her story. I am not a writer, but I want this story to reach the world.