My first few weeks at SEWA were bestowed merely with the task of observation to facilitate my understanding about its functioning. The observational bout lasted two complete weeks. Routinely, each day would involve an informal interaction with staff and members primarily for the excavation of details needing improvisations. Surprisingly, what caught my attention was the continual requests by various members emanating a keen desire to pursue their abruptly cut-off education during childhood. Many had only seen a school, never stepped in to even stroll inside it. All of them now, however, wanted to rectify their erroneous past by starting or continuing their education. A seventeen year old Sara had a fervent desire to read and write, to converse in English like she observes a lot of people do. Sara has never been to a school. There are many more like her. All of them with a single desire, to study. For the same, they wanted SEWA to intervene for help.

Yes, guessed it right. We're going to discuss female literacy here. And no, I am not willing to criticize the government vehemently. I instead will point fingers at ourselves.


Patriarchy is a dominating operational force in Sara's life. Add to it, penury.She was never allowed to exit the confines of the household to find herself a footing through her education. Education, in my opinion, being the most important tool of her liberation. Now let us generalize the situation. We all know education is similarly important for both sexes, thanks to the much recent propagation reaching every household through the television set. Still, with the ceaseless efforts, the literacy rate only grew by 9.4% in the past decade. With a 11.8% growth rate in female literacy, only as much as 65% women of the largest democracy in the world have been able to trudge towards literacy. Yes, there are governmental programs. Myriad of them have been launched to achieve the elusive figures aimed at during policy-making. Implementation, as we all know, is another story. All's been said and heard umpteen times. Let us now ask ourselves, what stops families from sending their daughters to school when in theory, we all seem to have grasped the importance of education for our girls. To me, it is the school education seeming to contradict the cultural imprinting. We are scared to liberate our own women. The thought of women starting to challenge male subordination by exposing themselves to the same life as that of their male counterparts still scares some of us. The some of us who still act as the carriers of patriarchy in the society.

In a society that begins the emotional, physical and psychological stereotyping of its females right from the point of their birth it is required that she submits to the male authority in all aspects of life to the extent of being coerced to give up her intellectual autonomy and individuality. The state insists upon the education of its females while the society is intimidated by this radical experiment, even today. Schools, thus born, are merely monuments of contradiction. The one that exists between the state and its society. The aim of a girl's socialisation at home is being challenged by the very concept of a school. Not instantiating from the slums, where the illiteracy plagues the parents, I am instantiating from my own experience of an acquaintance who was reprimanded by her parents for showing signs of independence. In stern voice, the twenty-three year old was being castigated and her education cursed for the parents claimed, it made her independent. No, I am not kidding. I am not using hyperbole. I am merely stating. And here, the girl belongs to a prestigious institution of the country. I'd refrain further details for the sake of anonymity but what appalls me is the thought that cripples us. Will the purpose of education ever be attained if independence of thought remain unattained by the scholar/student? We all know the answer. The customs that involve the careful tutoring of the female to evolve into a socially acceptable specimen stems from the idea of associating the family's honour to the females of the household. We need to get rid of it. And nothing but education will change it. Education of our women. Of our men. Now that the wall hoardings have theoretically pressed upon the importance of female literacy, we all need to put it to practice too. We're trying to practice it. The bunch of women who wanted to study, to be able to read and write, now manage to take a hour and a half daily out of their work and attend classes organised by SEWA. They know how to spell "Self dependence" and "Confidence" and somewhat discern and comprehend the phenomenon these words carry.

Last week, when Sara came and thanked me for the classes, there wasn't anything I was unwilling to do to continue what I was doing. Their smiling faces meant a lot. We need bring more smiles, all of us!