Seventeen-year-old Uma Devi, a teacher in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, says, “I am a teacher of class seven. One day, I was upset to see one of my students crying uncontrollably. She talked about the unhappy situation in her home. Her father, she said, drank a lot, abused her mother, and was not willing to contribute to the family income or send her to school. Her distress bothered me immensely. I went to her home and spoke with her mother first. Then I spoke with her father the next day. He was extremely rude and told me to go away. But I persisted. I explained what his not providing for fees, books and educational support was doing to his child. I went to his house everyday for the next five or six days. This seems to have helped. My student has cheered up considerably and delightedly showed us the slate and books that her father purchased for her.

I wish to recount the case of another student whose mother was forcing her into marriage. When I protested she asked me whether educating her daughter would guarantee that she would find employment and that she would share her earnings with her. I reasoned with her this may not happen but it would ensure that her daughter can fend for herself in times of distress. ‘If your daughter is unhappy in her marriage and dependent on her husband for everything, you will be in an unenviable position yourself. But if she can take care of herself she will at least not be vulnerable or dependent on you,” I said. Her mother seemed to see my point. I also told her that her daughter was too young to be married. Other than being a crime with legal implications attached to it, she will have trouble if she conceives right away as the hip girdle is small and unformed at this stage. This convinced the mother and she has cancelled the marriage.”