Once you start believing in yourself and your capabilities, people’s mindsets change as well.
-Naina, TCL from Devipur, Haryana
This is a story about the power of rising against odds and leading by example. It all begins in the village of Devipur, nestled in the district of Karnal, Haryana where Naina resides. Naina breathed life into many roles—a proud Breakthrough Team Change Leader (TCL; volunteer from project area), a fearless advocate, a leader who is full of potential that is often weighted under the expectations of society. The oldest of 11 daughters, her young shoulders carry her dreams as well as the hopes of her sisters’ futures.
Supported initially, Naina completed class 10 only to be challenged by two major hurdles—one being lack of transport and the other, and much more acute, being her father’s hesitance.
In a stiff patriarchal society that continues to place boys before girls, Naina’s father had no mind to encourage her ambitions. “Conditions outside were not appropriate for a young girl”, “If you educate a girl, you’ll have to find a more educated groom as well,” the community taunted. Society is not kind to the fathers of girls and he is a father to 11, after all.
Perhaps, Naina too would have silently submitted to her fate had her experience as a Team Change Leader not told her otherwise. Through training and capacity building sessions, Breakthrough had shown her that girls too can do everything boys can. She was taught how to advocate for herself—with open dialogue and negotiation. And so she employed all that she had learnt to secure her future. She spoke openly about her dreams, asking for support from her parents but society’s opinions won the first round and her efforts were dismissed.
Naina continued to work hard but found no support. Breakthrough’s team stepped up, convincing her supportive aunt and uncle to stand by her. And this glimmer of hope empowered Naina to approach her father again. When he heard his daughter promise to never let him down and make him proud, he could not refuse a second time.
“I just need one opportunity to (become someone) so that I too can help girls who have big dreams but are just labelled as burdens,” said Naina, who had become a sparkling example for her sisters, setting a precedent that changed not just hers but all of their futures.
As Naina was jostling archaic norms at home, she had been engaging in another battle for the village youth. Young dreams of Devipur were in a standstill with nowhere to go—literally! There were no schools in the village that offered classes beyond class 10 and good education and career opportunities awaited just a few kilometres away but there was no way to get to them with the lack of transport. Can you imagine that?
Naina was done imagining. It was time to make things happen and this time, she was not alone. She joined other girls of the village to form the Shakti (strength) group, a collective from Devipur to focus on the educational needs of women and children, with the help of Breakthrough. It was shocking for the village to see a band of girls like this and the rumours, as they do, travelled fast. “When we began to come together to talk, people in the neighbourhood would gossip about us. It wasn’t pleasant and we didn’t like listening to that kind of thing,” Naina said.
But the Shakti group wanted to be defined by actions, not words. Using all their TCL training, they wrote a letter to the Chief Judicial Magistrate, demanding a bus service that could ferry youth to and from the village so that the youth could make use of good education opportunities. A bold move that reaped incredible rewards. The CJM agreed to their demands and within days, locked doors were swung open. Girls who couldn’t imagine a life besides marriage after class 10 were now pursuing college and ITI courses!
Naina has now completed her ITI Diploma and is pursuing her Bachelor of Arts degree. People no longer perceive her as a liability but instead as an architect of her own destiny.
Sometimes all it takes is one person, one group, one community to make a change for many, many to follow suit. As they say, it takes one step to begin a journey and when Naina and other members of Shakti group took this step, they left footprints for many to follow.
News of their efforts travelled all the way to GarhiKhajur, a village about 10 kilometres away, where girls had to travel 18-20 kilometres if they wished to study beyond class 12. While the threat of early marriages loomed overhead, Devipur’s successful bus endeavour emerged as shining inspiration. Young girls sprung into action, initiating a signature campaign in April 2023 to present to the Karnal Chief Judicial Magistrate’s office. Today the village enjoys a regular bus service, benefitting 15 girls and 10 boys from the community.
The drop that caused the ripple 10 kilometres away went even further when girls from neighbouring villages began enrolling in college, with 35 new admissions (some in non-traditional courses). This number is expected to double in the upcoming academic year. And it all began with one girl in a home, in a village nestled in the district of Karnal, Haryana.