Mission to Boost "BetiBachaoBetiPadhao Campaign"

It is not uncommon in India, particularly in rural societies, for girls to leave school before they reach the 5th grade, as early marriage and domestic duties are prioritized over a complete education. This situation almost became a permanent reality for 12-year-old Kajal. Kajal village, Nokh, is without a local primary school and after several years of traveling a great distance on foot to attend the closest school, Kajal’s parents, deciding this an unsafe journey for a young girl, asked Kajal to stay at home and help them with domestic and farming duties. Kajal spent 2 years out of school and describes it as a  “very bad”  time in her life. Kajal had thoroughly enjoyed her short-lived education and, as a dropout she said, she was constantly thinking about her studies and the life she would not have as a result of terminating them prematurely. Consequently, she says, her work at home and on the farms suffered, as she could not fully commit herse...

Anjali (pictured above) is a 9 year old from Rajasthan, India. She loves drawing, watching movies and painting her hands with beautiful henna designs. She goes to school every day and her parents support her desire for education. Anjali is lucky because not every girl in her village has the opportunity to study. Her cousin, Rani, who is just one year older, got married last summer. In Anjali’s school, there is a girls’ parliament called the  Bal Sabha  (Girls Council). During Bal Sabha sessions, young girls are taught life skills. They have the opportunity to speak up about their concerns, and by doing so, they gain confidence. Anjali really likes being part of the Bal Sabha. Anjali was playing a  Team Balika  Member visiting a house where a young girl was about to get married. Anjali’s character had to convince the parents to stop the wedding from happening and to send their daughter back to school instead. The issue of child marriag...

Meena Bhati (pictured above with a girl from the village) was born into a  Rajput  family living in the Chanud Village of Pali district in Rajasthan, India. The Rajput community does not believe in educating a girl child; many families there do not even wish to bring a girl into this world because she is seen as a liability. She grew up in a society where women were treated with inequality in all walks of life. Meena was lucky that her parents gave her the opportunity to study, but only until class 10. She pleaded with her parents to allow her to continue her education after class 10 but she was told to pay attention to household chores and prepare for marriage instead. Soon after she was married, much against her wish. Little did Meena know, she had another chance waiting for her. As, Her husband was a teacher, and understood the importance of education. Instead of risking her life with an adolescent pregnancy or being forced to work at home, Meena ...

In January 2017, the administration of  Chittorgarh  launched ‘Udaan’ – a campaign to ensure that all girls in the district are enrolled in schools by June 2018 . Under the campaign, a door-to-door survey of girls in the district was conducted at the village level, and a database was prepared to connect them with education. The primary objective of Udaan is to provide quality education it is so much more than that. With this they are empowering girls with the ability to take decisions on their own, creating awareness about the world around them, and instilling confidence in them. The four activities that Udaan work on are: 1. Real functional toilet Many of girls drop out because the schools do not have proper toilets. Udaan worked on ensuring that every toilet in the district has functional toilets that are well-maintained. 2. Clean and well-maintained school building One of the first things that everyone not...