“Educate a boy, and you educate an individual. Educate a girl, and you educate a community”  - Greg Mcrtenson

Great words, right? But can we understand it? Can we imagine how deep a message that person gave us?

Let me explain you. We all know, what is a common mentality towards a girl’s education in our country. They think, it is a waste of money and time. And even if they think it is important, they educate a daughter till primary or hardly till secondary education, just for a good marriage proposal.

A common man cannot think beyond this. He doesn’t think that educating a girl can change her life and others' as well. And why just till secondary, why not further studies? Just because they think it is not important or fruitful?

Let me tell you a true story…

A girl was born in a noble family, and was the youngest among all her siblings. She was blessed with one sister and two brothers - who were never interested in going to school as they knew they had to join their family business after all.

But the youngest girl had some ambitions and dreams which she wished to accomplish. She wanted to complete her further studies after 12th. Even though she was born to a good family, her parents wished that she should get married and settle in her life, as her elder sister did, instead of choosing further education. They never understood her dreams and ambitions. The family didn’t even help her financially in her education in spite of the fact that they were financially sound.

But she faced everything and started earning herself by taking tuitions home to home and started her further studies by her own earnings. She completed her master’s degree and now wanted to start her own business. But as her parents were opposing it, they never let it happen and asked her to get married. As she never wanted to go against her parents, she agreed and got married in a good family.

After 6 years, she had three small children, two daughters and a son, who was smallest of all. She was living a happy married life, but because of an accident she lost her husband. She was shattered. Now the whole responsibility of her three small children was solely on her.

She somehow managed to run her husband’s business for her living and at the same time, there was no one after her husband to continue their business as well. But because of untrustworthy employees and staff she had to bear a great loss in the business. As she was a responsible woman now, she never wanted to raise her children on her elder brother’s earnings or father’s savings. She never wanted anybody’s sympathy towards her and her children. She knew that the sympathy may turn into hatred one day, as sympathy does not exist longer. She sold everything left behind by her husband and she shifted to another city.

 Now the questions were,
     How will she raise her children?
     What will she feed them?
     How will she take a fathers place in their lives?
     How will she not let them feel that they had lost their father?
     How will she fulfill their needs?

She had nothing left with her except-‘EDUCATION’.

She started taking tuitions for small children in the area, to educate them, as well as for her living. As she was new at that place she had to face many problems. She faced it, but never lost her courage. She had her self-respect, capability to raise her children and courage to face the world so in spite of  the knowledge, that how difficult it is to raise the kids alone, she never took anybody’s help.

After one decade or so, she had her own house because of her hard work and her education. Within two decades her children were studying in a good colleges and one of them had a good job. Children were understanding. They always stood by her in every hard time she faced.

Now suppose, What if she wasn’t educated? What if she would have stopped her education at primary level itself? What if she didn’t had the courage to raise her children? Could she have managed all these things?

And even if she would have taken help of her family, how long they would have supported her? An uneducated woman would have grown her children in any ashram or would have lived with her family. But how long they can support her; would she have her self-respect? How long their family will raise her children? Till when they will feed her and her children? A man does not educate a girl with an open mind due to their own boundaries toward modern thoughts. Touch wood but what if the same incident takes place with your daughter or sister?

Will you keep them their whole life in your place? So it is not only the primary or secondary studies matters, but also further study is necessary in today’s world, to resist and to survive. Statistics shows, educated girls improve the lives of their families, their communities and even their country.

To get rid of social evils as well, we should educate the girls. If we want scientists, engineers or managers in future, we should be educating the girls as much as boys.

I am proud to tell you that I am the son of the woman about whom the story I have written. She is not only my mother but also my father. I never missed my father as I had my mother with me who always took my father’s place.

Thanking you for reading my article, and as I am a new writer I would have done a lot of mistakes. So please forgive me for that. Thank you.