On the International Day of the Girl Child we present to you the journey of Meera. She was not allowed to enter the living room of her house in her younger days. But last year, she staged a play before Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Like any other girl, Meera wanted to go to college. But at home, she was not even allowed into the living room to meet visitors.
When Meera met the Breakthrough trainers (Breakthrough foundation is a human rights organisation) as part of Taaron Ki Toli, she shyly offered to help with the set-up. She learned about health, sanitation, and the services the government provides. She started speaking up at the women’s group meetings.
Her Breakthrough moment came when she attended the Partners’ Forum, 2018 – India Day programme, in December 2018, as a peer educator. In Delhi! “I sat on a train! Till then, I had not even travelled as far as Lucknow,” she says. Her parents had their doubts, but Meera says, “they trusted the Breakthrough trainer. For five days, I travelled and stayed with other girls from across India. We swapped stories.” And best of all? “I got to take part in a play that we staged before the Prime Minister. I met the PM Narendra Modi!”
She also recalls the time she would not be allowed in front of visitors.
“Time was when I wouldn’t be allowed in front of visitors. Now my parents introduce me to everyone,” she says. Meera’s story has lit a spark among young people in the village. Her older sister would often joke that their lives would be wrapped up in cow dung cakes.
Now she, too, wants more. She has applied for a job with the police.
Meera’s story is a story of change. A change we are working towards. To be able to sustain and succeed, we need your help.
Sohini Bhattacharya, CEO & amp; President, Breakthrough India says, "As the 2019 UN theme rightly states- Girlforce: Unscripted and unstoppable, Breakthrough in its 20 years journey has experienced that if young girls are given proper agency, they can become active citizens. From not having aspirations at all, today we are witnessing them taking a stand for global issues. They are dreaming big and moving forward with their goals. They are taking ownership for the world they aspire to live in. They are getting good at negotiating with the stakeholders of the society. We need to create safer spaces for them and this is what we at Breakthrough are aiming at. To create a working where violence against women and girls is unacceptable".
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