Education of Adolescent Muslim Girls

Eleven education centres have been set up in rural areas of Vikas Nagar and Sahaspur development blocks of Dehradun for imparting education to adolescent Muslim girls. The education centres are located in the villages having large population of Muslims. The girls admitted to the education centres are those who could not get education in their childhood because of reasons like religious practices, lack of awareness about education among parents and burden of household chores.

Classes at the education centres are run for three hours a day and a teacher looks after all the activities at the centre. During paddy plantation, harvesting, Roza (fasting of Muslims during the month of Ramdan) and Id, classes remain suspended. Timing of education centres is decided by students. Parents' meetings are held at quarterly basis and discussions took place among the students on every aspect of the life.

Each centre has 25 to 30 girls on its rolls. The girls are highly enthusiastic to get education as well as to become a civilised person. Apart from routine course, the girls are sensitised on the issues of violence against women and rights of women, women empowerment and other issues which affect the women life directly or indirectly. The parents of the girls are also sensitised on the issues of women like violence against women, women rights and women empowerment. A change is visible in the outlook of the parents of the girls. Those parents who opposed their daughters in the beginning, have started coming in the parents' meeting and their doubts have been removed. The education centres are fast changing the mindset of the parents of the girls.

The education centres are not merely education centres, but also development centres covering all the aspects of life. Songs, plays, discussions and story narration play an important role in developing lifestyle, behaviour, approach and capacity to take decision.

The girls of the centres have expressed the desire that there should be vocational trainings like sewing, embroidery and other arts at the centres as well.

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A class of adolescent Muslim girls