“I am very happy to see this change in my father. I am happy to be living the dreams I saw for myself.”
13-year-old Kajal Kumari is a resident of Prasad village in Minapur Block of Muzaffarpur District Bihar in India.
“We are a traditional and patriarchal community where a girl child is considered a burden.”
Kajal is the younger of two sisters, her sister got married at a very young age. Meanwhile, Kajal always wanted to continue studying and live her dreams. Her father was against Kajal’s ambition and wanted her to marry soon, just like her sister.
“He did not let me join computer classes, because they were worthless according to him.”
Her father, Sohan Shah, now attends sessions on Gender Equality organized under the Gender Sensitization Meeting (GSM), and her mother attends the Women Leadership School (WLS), both within our project, Women Empowerment in Local Development in partnership with S M Sehgal Foundation, and funded by CISU – Civilsamfund i Udvikling / Civil Society in Development.
“When my father started to attend the Gender Sensitization Meetings, he slowly started to understand how harmful child marriage can be for a girl.”
Kajal saw her father’s thinking evolve over a period of time. Her father now supports her dreams and decided not to marry her before she completes her studies. He also supported her decision to join a computer course.
Now, Kajal is very happy that she got the chance to continue her education and pursue her dreams.
