Reinforcing the Value of Girls’ Education in Marginalized Communities in India by Invoking Traditions and Texts in Hinduism and Islam

• In Event: Roundtable Session (Wednesday IV)
  In Refereed Round-Table Session: Religious influence and girls’ education: perspective from Malala fund partners

Proposal

SKVS primarily works with the most marginalized and socially excluded communities of Dalits and Muslims. Reeta Kauchik, the Founder of SKVS, had her own share of marginalization, exclusion and discrimination while growing up in a Dalit family. She faced similar challenges and hardship both as a girl born in an Indian patriarchal society and also belonging to the Dalit community. She understands that in addition to poverty, a patriarchal value system and social exclusion based on strong Indian caste system, women and young girls especially in rural areas have to bear the brunt of strong religious and cultural beliefs and practices. In the early stages of her growing up Reeta had realized that the only way to counter many of these challenges is through education. She forced her way, defying many restrictions both from within and outside her family to complete her post graduate degree and was determined to support all other girls in her community, and also from the Muslim community, to fight for their rights.

In 2018, Malala Fund selected Reeta as a Gulmakai Champion. With her Gulmakai Network grant, Reeta and her organization work with Dalit and Muslim adolescent girls in 54 villages in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh, one of the most underdeveloped states in India.

SKVS’s model mobilizes key stakeholders at the community level and local school administration to create an enabling environment to ensure out of school girls are enrolled in schools and continue their education with parents and community support. As part of her organization’s mandate, Reeta works to mobilize key community stakeholders such as members of local Panchayts, village elders, opinion builders and religious leaders (both Hindu and Muslims).

Religion in India is central to people’s lives. SKVS discusses the importance of girls education with Hindu religious leaders by reinforcing the teachings of old Hindu scriptures and testimonies that accorded highest possible status to women as the creator of universe. Reeta and her team site the examples of the main Goddesses that every Hindu worships are Sarawati (source of knowledge), Durga (source of power), Laxmi (source of wealth) and Kali (source of destruction of evil). With Muslim Imams and maoulvies, SKVS’s team gives examples of Prophet Muhammad saying that educating girls is as, if not more, important as boys.

Author

• Reeta Kauchik, Samudaik Kalyan Evem Vikash Sansthan (SKVS)