In the village of Thehri, attitudes towards girls’ education have changed significantly in recent years. Where families once did not understand the value in sending daughters to school, many parents are now actively encouraging their girls to study and participate in learning.
At the centre of this change is Bai, a community member who plays an active role in supporting education.
Through her involvement as a Village Education Committee member, Bai has become part of a wider effort to encourage education within her community and help ensure children, particularly girls, have access to safe and supportive learning opportunities close to home.
Before the project began, Bai says there was very little awareness about the importance of education within the village, especially for girls.
“Before this, there was no concept of girls’ education,” she explains. “No male or female was interested in educating the girls.”
Many families believed education would provide little benefit for children and instead prioritised household work and daily responsibilities. According to Bai, parents often questioned the value of schooling altogether.
“Earlier, people had a completely blank mindset about educating their children,” she says. “They used to ignore studies and believed that if children studied, they would be of no use and bring no benefit.”
As part of the project’s community engagement efforts, discussions were held with families to help raise awareness about why education matters and how it can support everyday life. Bai and other committee members began speaking directly with parents and relatives within the community, encouraging them to reconsider their views about learning.
One example that particularly resonated with families was the importance of basic literacy in understanding medicine and healthcare.
“Then we explained to them that people should at least be educated enough to understand the expiry date written on medicine,” Bai explains.
For many families, these conversations helped make education feel practical and relevant to daily life. Gradually, attitudes within the community began to shift.
“After that, they realised its importance and now they are learning,” she says.
Today, Bai says relatives and community members who were once hesitant about education are now encouraging families to send their children to school.
“Now relatives say that they should be educated. They now feel its need.”
The opening of a learning space for girls in Thehri also helped build confidence within the community by providing a safe and accessible learning environment close to home. Bai says families were pleased to see children beginning to study and make progress.
“After [the school opened], the children started studying and there was improvement.”
The learning centre provides facilities including books, furniture and female teachers, helping create a supportive environment for students. For many families’ facing poverty, the fact that educational materials and facilities are provided free of cost has also been extremely important.
As part of her responsibilities within the committee, Bai regularly monitors school activities and supports efforts to maintain educational standards within the community. She also visits other schools within the area, checks attendance and continues encouraging families to prioritise education for their children.
“We ask our friends and relatives that if you still keep them outside, then when will they be able to learn education?” she says.
Over time, Bai has seen increasing participation from both mothers and fathers in school meetings, activities and awareness programmes. According to her, the visible progress girls are making through education has played an important role in changing attitudes within the village.
“At the initial stage of the project, people were not willing, but now having seen a change in girls, now everyone wants to educate their children.”
Alongside supporting education locally, Bai also participates in meetings at the Taluka and District levels, where community members, government representatives and organisations discuss educational challenges and possible solutions.
Initially, speaking in these forums felt difficult for her, but now feels comfortable to speak up and share her opinions within the other members and representatives.
Through these meetings, Bai has raised concerns about how schools can function most effectively and the need for continued support for girls’ education within rural communities.
She also continues advocating for the programme to advance so children can continue their studies close to home.
For Bai, the school represents much more than a place for lessons alone. It represents opportunity, confidence and hope for children who previously had little access to education.
“They say we are happy to have such an institution and such teachers who explain and help us understand things properly, things that we might never have learned otherwise,” says Bai. “We truly appreciate them.”
The Empower Her project was made possible thanks to generous public donations to READ Foundation, matched by funding from the UK government through UK Aid Match. Through safe, inclusive and community-based learning spaces, the project is helping out-of-school girls aged 6–16 access education closer to home.
