“ I belong to Looni district of Jodhpur and I am the principal and chairman of the Shri Mansak Bharti in Looni district of Rajasthan. I joined the campaign in 2008 when the campaign allies came to our institution to tell us about it. I actively participate in all the activities they hold and seek to question my own values and practices so that I can bring change within myself. I have indeed brought many changes to my thinking and life, talked to my own family on the need for change and then extended my circle of influence to the school. From July 2009, I resolved to raise the campaign issues daily at the institution in one way or another.

To begin with, I encourage boys to clean my office every morning. Normally, this chore was being done by girls. The girls would earlier also clean the school premises and fill up drinking water containers. Now the boys do this.  In a major departure, boys have started making announcements at assemblies.  Earlier, only girls would take the stage to make announcements in the morning assembly before prayers. Another major improvement has been that girls are now monitors at school, a prerogative earlier given only to boys. They have also been given a significant role in organising bal sabhas on Saturdays and the boys are now part of the welcoming committee on Independence and Republic Day celebrations, a role earlier exclusively reserved for girls. Our girls are now active in street theatre, forming pyramids, exercising and taking the lead in giving orders for march pasts. 

Today, girls and boys sit together in class while earlier there was segregation of sexes. Also, if girls come late to school we enquire why and try and remedy the situation, especially if girls are made to work instead of coming to school on time. If siblings are of different sexes and the boys are favoured by parents, we try and gently dissuade them from doing so. Though there are middle and senior secondary schools in our district, girls usually drop out of school after class eight. Due to our collective efforts, we have found that girls have begun to stay on at school. I am also happy to announce that our school enrolment numbers have shown a marked increase -- from 60 to 130 students  -- and the number of girls at the primary school level has increased. And, both girls and boys participate more actively in sports. I am confident that the winds of change will spread to villages and the entire region.”