Education evaded an early marriage for me – “I’m 18 years old. I think education is very important to a girl, as it makes her very independent, and gives her a chance to stand on her own feet. The society looks down on girls, who are not educated, and takes them for granted and treats them badly. An educated woman is respected. Parents of a girl child are not very supportive in educating her. Whereas they think it is important to educate the boy child, so that he can grow up, get a job and support the family. After my high school, my parents wanted to get me married, but I insisted that I wanted to study further. I do have friends who have not been educated much, who have studied till 2nd and 3rd grade. They were married off at a young age. Now when they see me teaching at this school, they regret not having studied, and feel that they would’ve supported their families and their children by working, had they been educated. I feel bad for them. I think that girls should be educated, establish a career and support themselves and be independent. Only after the age of 25-26, should they think of getting married. Had I been idle, and not pursued education, my parents would have gotten me married. Education has evaded an early marriage for me.”
Photo: UNESCO/Poulomi Basu
