EDUCATION
Daraksha Noori has many skills and interests: she loves to study and she also enjoys crafts and sewing. Daraksha, who is 16 and a 10th grader in the Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh, is also a big sports enthusiast, which is somewhat unusual for girls in rural India, as sports are often presumed to be a boys’ pastime. However Daraksha’s father, who has been supportive of his daughter’s education, provides her with all the sports equipment she needs, including for her favourite game: badminton. Rubina tells me, “People say to me that she’s a boy, and that we give her too much freedom.”
Recognizing the role of sports as an opportunity for girls and boys to be treated equally Join My Village, through CARE, offers girls like Daraksha the opportunity to feel free and be confident by providing sports materials and encouraging girls to participate in games such as cricket, football, and volleyball which are often considered to be boys’ sports in India. Here at KGBV, I saw women in various positions, and now I want to do something in my life too.Earlier I was told only boys study and girls stay at home. I want my future to be good.
Daraksha says, “I used to watch sports on the television, and I felt like playing. When I got the opportunity at KGBV, I started playing and continued doing so. Cricket is my favourite sport at home; whenever I get time I play with my brother.” Daraksha and her family faced a lot of criticism because of her keen interest in sports. She says, “When people used to see me playing sports they would say I am trying to become a boy and hence doing things that boys do.”
Daraksha has high ambitions for her future ahead. She says, “Here at KGBV, I saw women in various positions, and now I want to do something in my life too. Earlier I was told only boys study and girls stay at home. I want my future to be good. Earlier my mother would teach me at home and later she got me admitted to school. I want to become a doctor because I like serving others. I get inspired by seeing the doctors at the clinic, and I want to help the needy.”
Rubina says she would like to help Daraksha pursue her dream of becoming a doctor although she is nervous about sending her away for school. Nevertheless, her parents support her wish to learn… even if her mother hopes she becomes a teacher so she might stay close to home.
