Rather than remaining a victim, Varsha Jawalgekar deflected the blows of domestic violence inflicted upon her by her husband and became a champion of women’s rights. Currently a leader at the Parivartan Kendra (Centre for Change), Varsha also channels her human rights activism into various organizations in Maharashta and Bihar. She uses her IndiaUnheard Community Correspondent videos as calls to…
A young girl in Patna, Mustari, overcomes loss and poverty, prioritises education.
Varsha, our Community Correspondent from Bihar, first met Mustari about five years ago at the NGO where Varsha volunteers. Mustari would sometimes prepare the food for their meals. Working closely with advocacy for women's rights and having herself struggled with the obstacles of a misogynistic society, Varsha was moved and inspired by Mustari's story.
Mustari was orphaned at a young age. Left with two siblings and not much else, she decided to take up small part-time jobs, cooking and doing domestic work to sustain her family. She'd make around Rs.5-600 a month. In an environment where few girl children are allowed to be educated, Mustari insisted on going back to school, despite the opposition she faced from her uncles and aunts. "Now she is 24 years old and in Standard 12. She's been balancing working, studying and looking after her family for years. But she doesn't give up," Varsha told us.
Mustari now teaches young children the alphabet, numbers, games and art at a missionary school in Patna. Not only has she recognised the power of education, but she is determined to proactively participate in spreading its goodness. She also helps out with social work, assisting the illiterate with filling out government forms and applications.
"I was really inspired by her, and that too she is so young," said Varsha. "I want to tell everyone that if there are children like this around you, who want to study but can't, you should do everything in your power to support them."
No Cards
The article argues that systematically ignoring and silencing the voices of the poor and marginalized worldwide does not serve society or democracy well and must be countered. While new technologies such as AI could provide an opportunity for change, we contend that these technologies need to account more effectively for...
Impact Story
When the staff at Gannett newspapers in the US coined the term MOJO (Mobile Journalism) to describe new ways of gathering and distributing news using emerging technologies in 2005, they would not have imagined its virality and use ten years later. Ask new media journalists and our Community Correspondents Shah...