Trigger warning: Mentions of sexual violence
In India, the transition from middle school to high school is a crucial turning point in every student’s life. For a lot of us, it is about choosing between pursuing Arts, Commerce or Science streams. Unfortunately, for many girls in our country, the decision is not theirs to make, dictated more often by their parents or societal norms. As per the National Education Policy, one out of every 11 girls in India is forced to drop out of school.
In 2023, I got a chance to teach Entrepreneurship to economically disadvantaged students from Delhi government schools, neighboring IIIT Delhi. Every year, the institute organizes summer camps, with the vision of creating a learning environment that augments students’ confidence and aspirations through various conventional and out of the box courses. Entrepreneurship was one of them.
Being an entrepreneur myself, I wanted to share my knowledge and experiences with budding talent who strive to excel despite limited resources. I think these skills and the development of the entrepreneurial mindset can especially help girls break generations of poverty and inequality, making them self-sufficient and financially independent. Coming from a small town in Haryana and having witnessed firsthand the barriers many young girls face in their education, I wanted to give back to the community. I became a tutor to middle school students for Entrepreneurship.
Outside the classroom too, I would hang out with the kids, mostly during lunch. It was during this time that I got to know Saya and Maya – two girls who came from different government schools in Delhi but became best friends very quickly in the camp. They both sat together in class, were very bright, and when asked any question, would answer them quickly.
Maya was very extroverted and would ask me all kinds of questions. She wanted to know what one learnt in college, how one could enter one, and what I wanted to “become” once I grow up. Saya would mostly sit quietly and smile.
During one such lunch in the mess, I asked Saya which stream she was planning to choose in Class XI. “Jane nahi denge papa school (Father will not let me go to school),” she replied.
I was taken aback by her response. On enquiring further, Saya shared that her father often told her that “11th class mein rape ho jata hai”(In Class XI, one gets raped), and therefore, would not permit her to study beyond Class 11, for her own ‘safety’.
I also got to know that Saya’s current school only offers education up to Class 10. In order to pursue her high school education, she would have to navigate through an area known for its unsafe conditions and various criminal activities, putting her physical safety and academic goals in jeopardy. I tried to speak, but there was no sound in my voice.
While both girls were equally bright, it was likely that one of them would not be able to study ahead, not due to any fault of her own. To me, Saya’s story served as a harsh reminder of the reality of how girls in our country are denied education due to fear of sexual violence. What is more unfortunate is that this isn’t just Saya’s story. Nearly 40 percent of adolescent girls in the age group 15-18 drop out of schools in India due to the lack of a safe and secure atmosphere.
This in the country with the campaign slogan “Beti bachao, beti padhao”. Does it not occur to us that these two verbs shouldn’t be in the same sentence? That the right to safety underlines the right to life, and if the quest for education threatens that very basic right, how sad, how unfortunate it is.
I realized that in Saya’s life, both safety and education come together in unfortunate ways. Forget entrepreneurship. Saya’s father was stopping her from even getting basic education.
There were, of course, sociological reasons for this. Girls are often seen as inferior to boys, and their position is limited to traditional roles such as homemaking and caregiving. As a result, parents do not see the value in investing in their daughter’s education, forcing them to drop out. This was the case for Saya too, whose father held the belief that her education was not something important. Girls like Saya, I understood, face a double disadvantage, where gender and socio-economic status intersect to create additional barriers to their education and future prospects.
Meanwhile, Maya has dreams of becoming a lawyer. Her family is also supportive of her dreams. Maya attends the same school her elder sister graduated from. Fortunately, a few of the girls from her neighbourhood attend the same school. The company of fellow female students provides her family with a sense of security for her daily commute to and from school.
While Saya and Maya were equally bright, their stories couldn’t be more different. Grief and hope co-existed in that classroom.
‘Didi, hum jeet gaye!’
A few months after the summer camp, Maya called me unannounced, almost happily crying, “Didi, hum jeet gaye, aapne jo padhaya tha sab steps follow kiye”. She participated in the “Business Blasters” competition, where the Delhi Government provides a seed fund to students to build something that generates profit or solves a social problem. Maya’s team was the first among 26 teams that participated from their region.
Maya told me about the workflow of her idea, unit economics, customer acquisition, outreach, and marketing strategies. She also taught her friends back at school all the concepts she learnt over the five weeks of entrepreneurship classes. She told me how her idea was inspired by a case study of cloud kitchens discussed in one of my classes. Her team decided to capitalize on the momentum leading up to Independence Day and created batches of coconut sweets in the colours of the Indian flag. They distributed a few samples to the sweet shops in their locality, successfully negotiated with them, and sealed the deals. The shops were also very interested because they get bulk orders from various catering companies who requested sweets on national celebrations for various corporations.
Maya’s idea was based on a skill the entire team was good at(cooking), the product was in demand (ladoos!), and they had a fantastic market strategy through already established sweet shops in their locality.
Maya’s story, in fact, demonstrates the power of education to break down barriers and our ingrained stereotypes, and cultural and societal norms about girls’ place in society. Education is a transformative force that can empower girls to challenge gender norms, build their confidence, and pursue their dreams. Education is helping equip Maya with the necessary skills and knowledge to participate fully in society, gain economic independence, and challenge systemic discrimination.
More mentorship and training programs must be established to provide girls with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed as entrepreneurs. This includes training in business management, financial literacy, and networking.
Teaching these young girls about entrepreneurship opened my eyes to the immense power of education and the many obstacles that underprivileged girls face in pursuing their dreams. I have gained a deep sense of empathy through this journey. Helping these young girls unlearn societal conditioning and expand their horizons was beautiful. Witnessing firsthand the incredible potential that lies within these girls when given the opportunity to thrive was so inspiring. I am grateful I got to be a small but meaningful part of their journey towards a brighter future.
*Names have been changed to protect privacy