The wind was blowing gently gathering her hair with it. She put her foot in the smooth flowing water beneath, taking in the fresh air after a long day of slavery and hard work. She didn’t want to go home. She just wanted to sit there by the river bank and play with the water, feel free for once in her life. For if she goes home, she knows what awaits her; a father grabbing every chance to beat his daughter with a leash and a mother who is as helpless as the child herself. Ragini, the girl, was just thirteen years old and the sole source of income for the poor family. The drunken father cares about nothing but his alcohol. The mother, a mere cook in the house, gets beaten by her husband almost everyday for no reason at all. The only mistake Ragini and her mother ever committed were, to be born as a girl child and the latter to give birth to a girl child. Her father regrets this each and everyday, drowns in a sea of sadness, drinks at the end of the day cursing and praying God to give him hell instead.
She is just thirteen, an age where children enjoy, play and study. Yes study, education, she knows nothing of it. She wants to go to the local school and study but her father wouldn’t allow. Though the education is free, her father thinks that it is unnecessary for her. Apparently, according to the ‘myth’ education is not the job for girls. The only reason he wouldn’t send his daughter to the school is because he is afraid he would not get his alcohol, as Ragini brings home the much needed money at the end of everyday. It would be different if she were a boy. She would be treated differently and may be even sent to the school.
She sits there by the river bank filled with the innocence of childhood, momentarily forgetting her worries, playing with pebbles, splashing her feet against the cold water and watching the sun set at the horizon. As the reality strikes in, there is no way out for her. She gets up and gathers the courage to face the facts. As she gets up and walks away, she leaves a trail of footprint behind in the mud.
This is about just one of the many Raginis out there in the wild. There are still places in India where women are treated like an outcast in the society. We are just lucky that we do not live in ‘such’ places. Will there ever be a change in the mindset of the people? Will the rural India ever grow up? Or are we just concentrating more in the development of urban cities?
Female education is as important as male literacy. India is growing faster and so should the mindset of rural India grow. Remember, when a man is educated, a person is educated but when a girl is educated, the whole family is educated.
