“ I live in Barmer in Rajasthan. I have been associated with the campaign for over two years and am delighted to be part of it. I am in class 12.

I, like many other girls around me, wish to fulfil my dreams and carve a niche for myself. I have always wanted to study. My family is fully supportive and have never stopped me from this. I have full freedom to study, watch the news, read the papers and issues of general interest. I like to read issues relating to women and their development.

I have often reacted to injustices meted out to women in my neighbourhood. But whenever I used to speak out I noticed that my parents scolded me and told me to restrain myself. This happened ever so often that I became sullen and began to keep to myself. I used to lose my temper at the slightest of issues and would feel persecuted.

Over the years, I really became very sad and I stopped meeting friends. My friend Laxmi saw this and came up to me. She explained how my behaviour saddened her and that I should make an effort to come out of it as it would ultimately make me into a bitter person. She urged me that if I had something to say, to say it – gently yet firmly. She introduced me to the campaign where I understood how to say things and what the real issues were. The experience was a real eye opener for me. 

I began to put my point of view across to my father to begin with. I explained that after finishing my studies I wanted to build an identity for myself. And, that I had dreams I wanted to explore. I told him that I wanted to marry late so that I could fulfil my ambitions. At first, my father did not understand but later he did. He then supported me wholeheartedly.

By this time, I had gained confidence to speak out. I was prepared to face criticism. I began talking of the need to give equal opportunities to women and urged men in my community to help women at home. While I gained support from some, others did not like what I said. My influence so far has spread to two families and the men and women in these families share responsibilities.

In my own family, my brother has begun to help out when we women are sick or in need of help. This never was the case before. Today, I am delighted to see the change that has been wrought in me spread to others lives.

I wish to recount a tale to you. When I got involved with the campaign, I joined up to participate in street plays as part of the 16 days of activism.  This involved travel within the districts of Jodhpur, Barmer and Jalore. The play that we performed was called ‘Tiny Efforts’ and it was performed by eight Change Makers. It helped me gain confidence in myself and in my ideas. I saw how my friends who lived restricted lives before were able to came out into the open because of the campaign  and also changed lives around them for the better. I also attended many meetings during this time. What I gained most was the ability to move out alone, travel and air my views, without hesitation. 

I realized, however, that my teachers were upset with us for travelling and missing school. I was initially fazed but my newly grown confidence helped me re-establish trust with my teachers. I was able to, along with Laxmi, to persuade my teachers that what were doing was very much needed and a priority. I explained the campaign to them and its significance. Fortunately, they began to see reason. I also began talking to my friends. While some understood, others kept away. Today, I am happy to say that most of them are now on our side. They call us to perform and applaud our efforts.”