In Murshidabad, at least two institutions are working to build the confidence of young girls.
They are engaging them in skill training, giving them leadership roles in school and telling them that early marriage will not give them a better life but education and vocation will.
One of the schools has also revived its old practice of making parents sign a declaration that they won’t get their daughters married off.
During the past two years, the outreach programme had taken a backseat and teachers saw that the parents were getting the girls married off much earlier, something that forced them to quit studies.
The resistance has to come from the girls, said the two heads of institutions.
“In a patriarchal set-up, many of them are raised with the idea that they will be married off and that is a life set aside for them. We try to get them out of that belief that only marriage is an objective of life,” said Jahangir Alam, headmaster, of Laskarpur High School in Murshidabad.
One way to convince the girls and build confidence in them is by giving them scope for vocational training.
Debkunda Sk. Abdur Razzak Memorial Girls’ High Madarsah has started a programme where girls are initiated into computer training and tailoring.
“One way of building their confidence is knowing they are capable of earning and a skill training prepares them for that,” said Murshida Khatun, the headmistress of the madrasa.
Khatun said many of the girls are made to believe since childhood that men will be earning and the women’s job is to raise children and manage the house.
“We assign the girls roles of captains in school and give them responsibilities that make them develop confidence in themselves as well,” said Khatun.
Laskarpur High School recently conducted a session with girls from Class VIII upwards in association with local police and a psychologist.
“If we can convince even 50 girls of 250 we will consider it as a success,” said Alam.
The confidence will make the girls build a network among themselves, said Alam.