~Girls from Jharkhand advocate for access to education by detailing challenges they faced~

New Delhi : The right to education is part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The pandemic has dealt a severe blow to formal education worldwide, with approximately 129 million girls out of school. Girls in India have also faced obstacles in continuing education.

Nearly 40% girls aged 15-18 lack access to any kind of schooling. On Human Rights Day, girls from Khatri Khatanga village in Jharkhand have set up a digital chaupal and made a video explaining the hardships they have had to face over the past year in continuing education. Digital chaupal is an initiative by the girls who create short videos to spread awareness about the issues they face in accessing education. The intent behind creating the video is to create an equal society where every girl gets educated. The girls have created the video to inspire other girls to tell their stories through the short video medium.

In the video created by the girls, Suman Lakra said she did not have a smartphone to study because her family could not afford one. Another student, Anita Kumari, said she had to help her parents and tend to the farms which was a hurdle in continuing education.

But every child has a right to education and the girls are clear they want to continue studying at any cost. “I have studied till intermediate and want to study further,” said Reeta Dhan. “Education is the single most important thing for us as it opens the doors to a better life,” said Anita Kumari.

People Powered Digital Narratives (PPDN) has trained girls from Khatri Khatanga village in Jharkhand to set up a digital chaupal and make videos explaining the hardships they faced over the past year in continuing education. Every month, PPDN aims to train and encourage more young girls to tell their inspirational stories of beating the odds, through short mobile videos.