“I was told that two didis will be coming to film me,” a cheerful Shanti said to us on a sunny afternoon in Gosaiganj, a small town in UP about 20 kms away from the state capital, Lucknow. 

At that time, she was taking us around her village, showing us the path that she took to school every day and opening up about her life. In her village, she told us, the only school went up to class 10. To study beyond that, one would have to travel further – taking taxis and buses to go to a faraway government school to study. And that was a luxury rarely available for most girls. 

But that was not to deter Shanti. 

“When I passed Class 10, my parents said I couldn’t study any further.” Shanti told us, somberly, as we sat in a cot in her home. Behind her, a large tree curved and filled the sky and children ran by giggling. Some of them came, wide-eyed, to watch us as Shanti talked about the difficult decisions she had to make. 

Previously, Shanti remembered herself being a quiet, diffident young girl – without the confidence to speak up for herself. But ever since Breakthrough started working in her village and she started attending the sessions, she sensed a change come over how. Now, there is a confident young woman in her place. 

With the same confidence, Shanti went back to negotiate with her parents regarding her right to go to school. And luckily, she won through! Her parents saw their daughter’s fierce desire to continue studying and decided to support her. 

…ever since Breakthrough started working in her village and she started attending the sessions, she sensed a change come over how. Now, there is a confident young woman in her place. 

Unfortunately, not all of Shanti’s friends were quite so lucky. At one point, Shanti’s eyes welled up with tears while talking about one of her friends – a young girl, just like her, who had been stopped from going to school by her parents. Shanti and her other friends had been to talk with them many times. But her friend’s parents have – so far – remained unmoved and are planning to get their daughter married. 

As she finished saying this, Shanti’s mother leaned forward and pressed the hand of her now silent daughter, who was wiping her tears. “She’s very sensitive,” her mother explained to us. “She’s sensitive and she cares a lot.”

It was clear that Shanti cared a lot, as we took her around the village a second time to film her story. There, she opened up again about how surprised she was that two didis – our Head of Production Epti Pattnaik and I – were the ones who were coming to film her story. She confided in us that she always wanted to do something different. 

“Girls are always told to do sewing or work in beauty parlours,” she told us. “I want to do something different. I want to be an electrician!”

Shanti confided in us that she always wanted to do something different. 

This was both surprising and heartening to hear: it’s rare in India for women to be allowed to aspire for anything more than domestic work and marriage, let alone non-traditional careers such as electricians or truck drivers. Listening to Shanti speak about her dreams among the other women in the village, it became amply clear that this was a driven young person who would let nothing come between her and her dreams! 

Through Breakthrough’s work, we are proud to work with so many fantastic young people such as Shanti. And stories like this are only possible with your assistance and support!