Seventeen-year-old Rangamma of Raykullakunta village, Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, says, “My mother, too, initially refused me permission to study in college. The college, she argued, is away from our village. She was worried that I would be subject to sexual harassment. I assured her that I could take care of myself and showed her the campaign communication material to convince her that girls need to be empowered to fight their own battles. I am proud to say that now I will be the first girl in my family to go to college.

Seventeen year old Sivamma of Raykullakunta village, Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, says, “I am keen to attend college but the problem is that it is one-and-a-half kilometers away and there is a bar on the way that is overrun with drunkards. My mother is worried and dissuades me from attending college. But after hearing about the campaign, I am convinced that girls should learn to stand up for themselves. I plan to enroll in college. I will somehow manage to convince my mother. I do not buy the argument that girls should only wear traditional clothes. I do wear salwar kameez and will continue to do so despite many of our neighbours commenting that it is unseemly and goes against our culture.”