I come from a Bihari Brahmin family in the Ratanpur village of Sitamarhi district. My relatives did not celebrate my birth because I was born a girl. I was two years old when my family was thrown out of my village house by my relatives due to an internal family conflict. My parents didn’t know where to start, where to live, or how to feed their children. We spent a whole night at a railway station. Then we shifted to Dumra, Sitamarhi. With some people’s support, our life returned on track. Today we have our own house at Sitamarhi and have almost everything to live a peaceful life.

I am pursuing Journalism and Mass Communication, but the journey here wasn’t easy. Since childhood, I have been treated equally to my brothers and never felt gender discrimination against me at home. It should be ordinary and no matter of concern, right? But I was living in a society where girls in my neighbourhood, from little age, were taught that they were born female and they had some rules and restrictions. They taught their sons but not daughters. Many daughters of my age in the village are married now.

My Parents Are My Pillars

Since childhood, I have been very interested in English. Once I went to my father and started speaking what I was taught in school in English. That was when my father made up his mind that he would educate me until he could. Friends and family warned him several times that educating a girl will hit you back, save money for her marriage, you don’t have bigger lands and a financially strong background. But my parents always felt proud of teaching me. I am a burden on my conservative relatives and society because they think I am going in the wrong direction and I should be focusing on household work.

I completed my higher education at a school affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). Then for my higher education, I wanted to take a degree in Journalism as I am aiming to become a journalist who can make a difference. My father was not financially strong enough to make my admission, but he had a strong mindset. At a place where only boys were sent outside their home state for education, my parents dared to send their daughter. People started back bitching about me, my clothes, and my character, but my achievements shut their mouths every time. When I first went to college, it wasn’t that easy for me to adjust to a completely different place and a new environment.

I have come out as the first girl in my village to take education to this level and aim to get more. It takes courage to stand out in society. If even 10 per cent of people will learn from my parents and take action to educate their daughter, then it will make a difference for girls. My parents have always been an inspiration for other parents in the village, and now after looking up to us, they are ready to give an equal education to their daughter’s child.

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