Earlier I thought it’s better that my sister stays at home and does the household chores because she eventually has to get married and take care of her family. Now I’ve understood that it is so unfair to her. Her education is just as important as mine and she has every right to live her life as she pleases just like me.
I want to have a family where I earn enough and my wife works alongside, too, if she wants to, and I want an environment at home where no one is getting oppressed, or beaten and abused, everyone is equal and happy.
My sister wasn’t allowed to play more than an hour outside. Now she can play for two or three hours. If she washes dishes in the morning then it’s my turn in the evening.
The boys have started sharing more; they speak their mind now. Before they were introverts. After learning about the social issues that impact their lives through the dialogues and speaking in class, their confidence increased a lot; the manner in which they talk has changed. They are socially and politically conscious. Their mindset has changed
Our boys express themselves much more. Initially they never used to cry, they used to shout and try to solve every problem by fighting. Now they cry if they feel bad and try to solve problems through discussion, rather than violent fighting. They have understood that they violence is not the answer to the problems.
Initially we didn’t know what was happening in our own homes. Sister and mother used to work all day outside and at home. We used to order them to make this and that for lunch, dinner, etc. Through critical dialogues I realized how much they work and the level of pressure my sister is under. We just roam around all day freely without any restriction. I understood that we should also work at home because it is not just my mother’s or sister’s responsibility. It is mine too. So now I cook and clean.
I hadn’t seen that in any other school, that you can go to your teacher and talk to them about your personal problems. It will be just about studies, but here discussing our lives was part of being in school. In Prerna I felt like I belonged here, like is it even possible that teachers do care about you and will listen to your problems and help you solve them.
I used to think—that, so what if I study, I will still just be married off. Because eventually everyone just gets married off. Then here, I learned that marriage is not everything, that I can have a life of my own. I can become anything I want.
Firstly, the fear has gone. I think I am really smart [laughs self-consciously]. I think I can face any problem in the future. I can’t stay silent if I feel something is wrong. I want to learn and grow. I can’t stay at home now and do nothing. Like teachers used to say—girls should have an identity of their own, and not just be someone’s wife, daughter, or sister. So I Learned to think of myself as an equal person who has equal rights.
I felt very good after coming here. . . . Like there was nothing to be afraid of, from anyone. We would tell our teachers everything, all our daily problems. And they would help us. Even our studies, they explained so well, we understood. We were never afraid of asking questions. I felt confident.
Wherever I am today, I want to go much ahead. I am happy. I was very scared when my father turned me out. I cried a lot that day. But now I can take care of myself. I am not afraid of being by myself now. My education at Prerna gave me courage to stand against injustice and I resisted child marriage.
I have learned so many things at Prerna. So this is my base. Teachers were like our mothers. They were caring and supporting. When I was small, I was so scared. I couldn’t speak to anyone. But now I can speak fearlessly. Our teachers told us about all the right and wrong things which are happening in our society. And how to come out of that. We shared so many things, all our problems with our friends and our teachers and together we became strong.
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