Launched in September 2009, the literacy mission targeted to help 40 lakh women give up using their thumb impression and, thus, get what is their rightfully due. The mission posted 60% success rate.
‘Sapno Ko Lage Pankh’ doffs for the good job of these ‘akshardoots’. Published by the state human resources development department, the booklet tells the tales of 38 of them. These ‘akshardoots’ were also felicitated by chief minister Nitish Kumar on the National Education Day on November 10 last year.
Some of these success stories sound incredible. Take, for instance, Rampari Devi. A Dalit born in an Araria village with 100% illiteracy among women, she was all of seven years when she was married. The little girl slept through her marriage rituals and in years to come gave birth to four children. All that didn’t deter her from completing MA. She became a teacher in 1989, and the latest feather in her cap is the fact that she as an ‘akshardoot’ has made every women of her village __ 200 and odd __ literate within a year.
Sangeeta Kumari’s story is equally inspring. Daughter of a betel shop owner of Khagaria who passed away when she was only 13, Sangeeta was an ace footballer. She became a victim of a rape attempt, albeit unsuccessful. Though shaken, she did not think of committing suicide to escape the social stigma. She even faced a criminal case lodged against her when she complained to the coach against the rape attempt. A middle school teacher since 2005, Sangeeta also served as an ‘akshardoot’ and made a large number of daily wagers literate.
No less inspiring is the story of West Champaran’s Sarita Kumari whose alcoholic father abandoned the family to re-marry and settle in Nepal. With a shattered mother to support, Sarita reared pigs, hens and buffaloes to eke a living. She also pursued education and passed Class XII. At the time of her marriage, her father refused to perform ‘kanyadaan’ and the local police station SHO Shivmuni Prasad came to her rescue. A primary schoolteacher since 2007, she has made several Oraon women literate under the literacy mission.
Arpana Kumari of Lakhisarai also struggled hard to reach where she is today. Newly-wed, she took on a formidable neighbour when he demanded ransom from her in-laws. “I will liquidate your family if any harm is done to mine,” she told the miscreant. A fearless female, she runs a private school with more than 100 children on rolls apart from teaching women under the literacy mission.
Importance of education dawned early on Saran’s Khushboo as she saw an uneducated woman, seeking admission of her six-year-old son to a school, telling the headmaster that she had been married for four years. The teachers burst into laughter, but Khushboo, a student of the same school, turned serious. She also saw another illiterate woman ending up repaying Rs 3,600 for a loan of Rs 360. “It’s better to teach and educate women,” she resolved.