Forced into menial jobs during lockdown, these girls now teach one another

In Jharkhand’s Bigha village, youngsters form a teaching chain where senior students teach the juniors; parents and community are enthusiastic in their support. Bigha: Nishu Verma (10) was sent to work at a brick kiln by her family when her school shut during the COVID-19-induced lockdown last year. “There was a shortage of money and food at home,” she said. Khusbu, a class VI student, had been helping her father on the field because she had no school. Her father returned home from Surat after losing his job. Nishu and Khusbu are typical of the Other Backward Class community-dominated Bigha village in Jharkhand’s Giridh district, where most of the children from the 50-60 households have had no access to schools during the lockdowns. Even before COVID-19 brought their education to a halt, the children had to travel 20 km to reach a high school. Bigha has a population of around 1,500 people. Safeena Husain, founder and executive director, Educate Girls, pointed out, “For many children from migrant and poor families, COVID-19 has exacerbated the challenges to get an education, leaving children further exposed to child labour, exploitation and domestic abuse.”“Girls were most affected when the schools closed. Some were immediately steered towards household chores and the fields. In Bigha, around 95 per cent of the locals engage in agriculture. They struggled to gather enough food during the pandemic,” said Subodh Kushwaha, a youngster from the village.Kushwaha is among the five people who started Prayas in Bigha last year, a teaching chain where senior students educate the juniors for free. An automobile engineer who had worked in Jamshedpur for six years, Kushwaha has come home to his village to prepare for competitive exams. Other founders of Prayas are also professionals, like Vikash Krishn Mandal who is also an engineer and Tejlal Verma, a private teacher. In May 2020, team Prayas began knocking on doors in houses in Bigha, asking the parents to send their children for lessons at a common field. About 20 students turned up. They were given books and masks. A year later, Prayas has 100 volunteers who either teach or fund or support the initiative in different ways, and the number of students stands at 300, 45 per cent of whom are girls. Nishu Verma who used to work at a brick kiln during the lockdown last year (left) is now attending school and even teaches a couple of her juniors (right; the girl in blue) (Picture credit - S Sharma)Given this opportunity, Kushbu, Nishu and dozens like them have renounced their menial jobs and have made good progress through Prayas. “I can now add and subtract numbers and introduce myself in English. Earlier, I could not even write my name,” Nishu said. “I feel like studying here. I can now speak in front of an audience — something I was hesitant about before. I also teach two juniors and I love it,” Khusbu said.A thirst for learningThe students gather at Shivaji Maidan in the village for their lessons. Nestled amid bountiful trees, there is enough shade for classes and just the right amount of sunlight filters through the green cover. Students sit six feet apart in adherence to covid protocols. Anyone who arrives without a mask is sent back. Those studying between classes I and V are taught from 6 am to 8 am, and the rest between 9 am and noon.Apart from the regular classes, one can also spot children performing yoga or playing various sports. “These activities were necessary to create an ambience of school,” said Vikas Krishan Mandal, one of the founding members of Prayas.       “The girls are more active and intelligent,” Kushwaha quipped. They were ecstatic when Kushwaha opened a library in his house. It has 500 books apart from magazines and newspapers. Looking at their will to participate, he handed over the library’s administration to the girls. “They are responsible, so they were given the charge. They issue books and look at the overall operations,” he said.The road towards the resumption of education has been long for these girls. It involved coaxing the parents on multiple occasions. Computers turned out to be a veritable tool of persuasion in Bigha, where “families cannot even think of mobile and internet considering they are starving for food,” according to Kushwaha.Manisha Verma, a class VIII student who is taking lessons through Prayas, said she had no access to technology, and the school where she was enrolled did not conduct online classes in the lockdown.“Team Prayas came in with computers. I was inclined towards learning them, so I decided to go here,” she said, adding, “The education here made me confident. I can speak my mind today. Had Prayas not intervened on time, I would have been stuck with household chores.”Manisha’s father, Ramesh Verma, brimmed with pride as he looked at his daughter confidently teaching the younger children. “Her reading aptitude was average before. Today, she scores well on her tests — she can recite the mathematical tables till 20 and speaks English. I will work hard and earn money so that my daughter can continue her education,” he said.(Left) Students practising yoga in between lessons; (right) Girls have taken over the functioning of the small library set up by Prayas (Picture credit - S Sharma)Soaring ambitionsThe efforts by Prayas have received praise from the villagers, who help out with the tasks sometimes. Kshatrapati Mandal, a member of Manikabad gram panchayat from ward no. 9, said, “Prayas has changed the atmosphere of the village. These youngsters, who have been teaching since 2020, have imbued hope for children who missed their classes, especially the girls.”The encouragement has boosted their ambition. The founding members of Prayas, including Aditya Kumar Verma, Devnandan Verma, and Tejlal Verma, want this to be more than just about education — they want every child to be responsible towards society, and help those weaker than them. “Prayas team is thus creating an army which will not only educate the children but also teach them to fight for the right to education,” Kushwaha said.Husain added, “Community-based learning has been acting as a bridge between children from ultra-poor families and education during COVID-19. With literacy and numeracy affected due to learning losses for over a year, innovative initiatives like Prayas, where the community is taking the lead in education, have been a silver lining for those without access to the internet and smart mobiles. For many poor children, this is the first time they are getting access to education as it is now available in their localities.”Some of the funders are keen to get a few of the more talented students admitted to private schools. The team is now planning to expand the concept to nearby villages like Manikbad, Chikandri and Kodambri, and have been reaching out to children and parents, and also some schools and teachers, whom they are tying up with to make the programme stronger. 

COVID-19: An alumni group unites to save thousands in Bihar

A group of 74 volunteers, including doctors, pitched in to bring medical help to infected persons in the critical stages.Patna: In Bihar, which is hit hard by the second wave of COVID-19 that has claimed more than 9,500 lives so far, a group of 74 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya alumni have come together to help those who cannot either find or afford proper medical help. When hospital beds were scarce, the doctors in the group provided consultations over the phone. For example, a man in Darbhanga district who contracted COVID-19 chose to self-medicate to treat the infection. After around 10 days, when his condition became critical, his panicked wife, who was in the ninth month of pregnancy, sought the help of Lakhisarai's Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Amritesh Kumar, who happens to be a member of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Covid Helpline (JNVCH). He arranged an oxygen cylinder with the help of the volunteers but in just four hours, the cylinder was empty and he needed the cylinder refilled again. Meanwhile, the patient's health continued to deteriorate. The volunteers then helped hospitalise the man. As his health was sinking, he was put on a ventilator and needed Remdesivir injections and blood plasma. The JNVCH team took tremendous effort and arranged all required medicines and plasma donors for the man, saving his life.Later, when the couple shared with the JNVCH volunteers a photograph of their newborn girl, Kumar said, “I felt as if she was my own daughter, and I thanked God for being able to help save her father’s life.”Another beneficiary of the JNVCH’s services is an 84-old-year man in the Begusarai district, whose condition became critical after he contracted the virus. With only a 35 per cent heart function, the volunteers took him to several hospitals, but he was continually denied admission. The volunteers later managed to stabilise his condition through home isolation and teleconsultation with Dr Sumit Verma, a JNVCH volunteer who is serving at a hospital in Jaipur. Band of savioursThe JNVCH is a 74-member group of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya alumni founded on April 19, 2021 by Ranjan Jha after his colleague Muchkund Kumar Monu died of COVID-19 infection. The group has members from various walks of life - 40 of them are doctors and others include government officials, journalists and social workers. The team, which has sworn to do everything possible to prevent COVID-19 deaths for want of medical help, has so far saved more than 1000 lives.(From left) Ranjan Jha, Harimohan Singh and Amritesh Kumar are some members of the alumni group who have been actively volunteering during the second wave (Pictures sourced by S Sharma)A majority of these doctors serve in the COVID-19 wards of hospitals within and outside Bihar. They contribute to the group’s efforts by way of providing remote consultation — analysing blood oxygen levels and severity of symptoms and advising the course of treatment. The volunteers help the patients by arranging oxygen cylinders, medicines and food. The group makes all this possible through the team’s Facebook page and WhatsApp group.  Jha said the group has so far helped more than 5000 COVID-19–infected persons. He said more than 2000 of these people were in critical condition and were provided round-the-clock medical help and tele-counselling by the group’s doctors.Santosh Kumar Pandey, a JNVCH volunteer at Bihiya in Bhojpur district, said he has so far distributed more than 2000 kits containing medicines that were collected from various sources. “Several members of our team, including the doctors, have been working without sleep since the second wave started in Bihar. We are sourcing oxygen cylinders, distributing medicines and food packets for the affected people,” he said. Often many of these were in shortage but it helped that the volunteers had a number of doctors and government officials among them. Dr Harimohan Singh, another volunteer and a medical officer in the COVID-19 ward at the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), said, “I lost my grandmother for want of proper medical assistance. My aunt was also in a critical condition but survived. Since then, I have decided to do everything I can to help people who approach me. I receive 100 to 150 calls in a day—many of them seeking help in critical stages. I have helped about 85 per cent of these patients recover in their homes.”Senior Resident Medical Officer Dr Rajeev Kumar of Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, said, “I sometimes receive calls as early as 4 am. Most of these people are so panicked that I have to calm them down before giving medical advice.” The questions are usually the same - about managing cold, cough, fever, oxygen saturation, etc. The first thing the doctors do is check the level of infection, oxygen levels, etc and then they check their medication and prescribe new ones, if needed. “I follow up the cases by constantly monitoring the patients’ condition through WhatsApp even when I am on duty. Whenever I become free, I call each of them,” said Dr Abhijeet of Nalanda Medical College and Hospital, Patna. Santosh Kumar Pandey and other JNV alumni distributing medicine kits (Picture sourced by S Sharma)How they workMembers of the JNVCH said they spread the word about their services through word of mouth as well as their Facebook page and WhatsApp group. When a person contacts the group for help, the details are shared on the WhatsApp group of the volunteering doctors and one of them would take up the case and follow it up for a minimum of 15 days. Since the establishment of JNVCH, each doctor has helped at least 100 COVID-19–infected persons.According to data shared by the group, out of the 5000 plus calls the volunteers have so far received, 40 per cent were seeking help for people in critical stages. Whereas 75 per cent of these calls came from cities, only the rest 25 per cent were from people living in rural areas. Of the total cases, 99 per cent were treated under home isolation.The JNVCH is now preparing for a third possible wave of infections with more focus on rural areas that lack medical facilities. It has already started training 20 to 30 volunteers at district as well as block levels in Begusarai. Jha said JNV alumni, Dr Amit Priyadarshini from AIIMS Delhi, Dr Pragati Sharma from Kolkata and Dr Harimohan Singh from PMCH are imparting the training. “We are organising webinars to train volunteers on essential treatment methods such as checking blood oxygen levels, installing and replacing oxygen cylinders, breathing exercises for patients and administration of medicines,” he said, adding that the group’s members are also in contact with local authorities to ensure enough supply of oxygen cylinders. 

Bihar women missing from workforce, finds survey

Patna, Bihar: Bihar has the lowest rate of women working in the country, surveys show. Experts say that the disproportionate contribution to unpaid labour by women, the lack of policies and employment opportunities and predated gender roles are the reasons behind this phenomenon.According to the Times Use Survey (TUS) by the National Statistical Office (NSO), 96% of women in Bihar are involved in unpaid caregiving and domestic activities, while it also records the lowest women workforce participation rate (WPR) in the country at 2.7%. While Bihar followed the national trend, which showed a loss of employment opportunities for women, the state had a lower WPR for women when compared with the national average, according to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) by the NSO.Speaking to 101Reporters, Nisha Jha, who recently retired from her post as an adviser to the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD), stated the orthodox mindset in Bihar prevents women from entering the workforce. Even if a woman has a full-time job, she is also expected to fulfil her responsibility as a housewife, she added. Jha suggested that the government should prepare a database for literate and illiterate women in the state to find out the number of employable women and allocate resources accordingly. She added that even illiterate women shouldn’t be left out and be employed in whatever field they can contribute. High contribution to unpaid labourAccording to PLFS, while 81% of women in rural areas and 70% of women in urban areas are involved in unpaid domestic activities, only 1% of men contribute to domestic chores.Gunjan Bihari, Senior Program Officer, Centre for Catalyzing Change (C3), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) working towards women empowerment, highlighted that women in Bihar spend more than eight hours on unpaid labour each day. She lamented the time women have to spend in such activities, which prevents them from seeking employment. “It is imperative to revisit the definition of ‘economic activities’ and create scope for the systemic and socio-cultural recognition of women’s unpaid contribution to the economy,” she mentioned.Experts say that when there are no young children at home, then the labour force participation rate of women is higher. Experts also note that having elderly members in the household increases a woman’s chance to join the workforce, reflecting how childcare and other domestic responsibilities are delegated between household members, thus freeing up a woman’s time for paid work. In situations where childcare and domestic support isn’t available, women continue to be outside the workforce.Sahina Parween, a social activist, stated that there are many social issues holding women back from entering the workforce. She pointed out how only women contribute to household chores and claimed that it’s because of the patriarchal society. Men are prepared to earn money, and behind these gender-based roles, the established patriarchy prevents the woman from going out, she commented. Harjot Kaur Bamhrah, Managing Director, Women Development Corporation, Government of Bihar, told 101Reporters that despite high growth rates and the highest increase in budget for social welfare, Bihar fared poorly compared to other states owing to the state’s large population, low per capita income and low women literacy. Large investments in the form of resources from the central government must correct this historical imbalance created over decades, she suggested. Government apathetic, claim expertsAccording to TUS, child-rearing has increased in Bihar along with India. In the 2011-12 period, 33% of married women (aged 25-55 years) with young children participated in the job market, but in the 2018-19 period, it reduced to just 24%. In Bihar, 80.6% of women are involved in unpaid labour, whereas Jharkhand is at 80.9%, and West Bengal is at 80.7%. Daman and Diu is highest in the category with 88% while Delhi has the lowest 74.9% of women involved in unpaid labour.The TUS pointed out the contrast in government schemes and their efficacy. People lack awareness and information about such government schemes, explained Usha Jha, president, Bihar Udyog Mahila Sangh, an NGO working for the economic empowerment of women. Bihar has significantly less exposure to women in the workforce and there are no industries or big institutions, where women work, she added. The government must develop an ecosystem for women to actively participate in the workforce, she suggested.Mr. Sandeep Ojha, state head, C3, Bihar chapter, lamented the lack of policies in the state level to improve the workforce participation rate of women. The women have 35% reservation in government jobs but the total job opportunities are low. “Though Bihar was the first state to give 50% reservation to women in the panchayat system, it was for political benefit,” he commented. The government started various skill development programmes, but they all failed when it came to placements, he pointed out.

Crimes against women increase in Bihar as netas look the other way

Patna, Bihar: Social activists from Bihar allege that women's safety is not a priority for politicians even as crimes against women continue to increase and the matter remains absent from parties' manifestos.In the past two decades, crimes against women have risen steadily. According to the Bihar Police, the annual number of reported rape cases have risen from 746 in 2001 to 1,450 in 2019. Dilmani Mishra, Bihar women commission chief, stated that they are active and are trying to resolve as many cases as soon as possible. Similarly, Women Helpline, a part of the Women Development Corporation, has seen an increase in reported domestic violence cases. It rose from 483 cases in 2015 to 750 till September 2020. Counseling at Women Helpline. Credits: S SharmaEven though the Women Helpline is working hard in all districts, the crime against women has increased, Project Manager of Patna chapter of Women Helpline Pramila Kumari told 101Reporters.According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the number of cases of crimes against women has increased by 9.8% in the 2018-2019 period. The NCRB also ranks Bihar second in the number of dowry deaths, which increased from 1,275 in 2012 to 1,373 in 2014.Bihar State Women Commission. Credits: S SharmaSpeaking to 101Reporters, Guru Prakash Paswan, National Spokesperson, Bharatiya Janata Party, mentioned that they have worked towards improving the girls' gross enrollment ratio in schools and added that the Bihar Panchayat Amendment Act, 2006, has boosted women to stand as representatives of the people. “Our belief is empowering overall women's development when it comes to women's status through which we target to achieve high women security, which is an important issue when it comes to a place where we can see women are fiercely participating in education and political areas,” he commented.However, Shilpi Singh, director of Bhoomika Bihar, a non-governmental organisation working for the empowerment of adolescent girls, believes that political parties should reflect on preventive and protection measures on tackling eve-teasing, molestations, or growing rape cases in Bihar.“It's surprising that politicians frequently talk about women reservation but never include the issue of sexual violence in its core agenda. In Bihar, the issues of women's security are treated in the name of mutual settlement rather than identifying an individual's problems. Perhaps this is why the people of political parties also consider the issue of women's security as a family matter. Women should play an important role both while developing political parties' manifesto and during its implementation,” she commented.The president of The Plurals Party Pushpam Priya Chaudhary stated that the action on crime against women will be effective only when the gender and development aspect is incorporated.“We will have to hit the core of the problem, the uneven power relation between men and women. Our manifesto discusses providing quality education and creating economic opportunities for both sexes to make them economically independent,” she told 101Reporters.She said they would also focus on the law and order aspect and improve CCTV surveillance and create a special policing unit.

Young Fighters who Fought for their Independence - Child Marriage

Child marriage still appears to be a formidable problem in Bihar and it disproportionately impacts girls, depriving them of their education, health and safety, experts say. However, despite its prevalence, several non-governmental organisations and the state government are taking steps to reduce child marriages in Bihar.One in three of the world's child brides live in India, while around 50% of the child brides in India come from five states, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh, according to a United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) report. Rashmi Jha, senior consultant with the state child protection society, Directorate of Social Welfare, Bihar, told 101Reporters that the statistics reflect high rates of child marriage in India because patriarchal Indian society views women as an economic burden. Saheena Parveen, Bihar programme officer, The Hunger Project (THP), an NGO which works for women empowerment, stated that through their initiative, they have been able to stop child marriages by educating young girls.She informed that they started with about a thousand girls in 2016, and estimates that about 85% of them are now pursuing higher education. “The biggest change that I have experienced in these years is that the girls aren’t only protesting against child marriage, but are also coming up as leaders and leading to social change. Many of them have registered in the voting list and say we also have the right to select our leader. In the future, they see themselves as panchayat leaders," she told 101Reporters.Fought against parentsIn 2015, the wedding of a 15-year-old Nandini Kumari, a resident of Jamui, was fixed. Belonging to a family with poor financial status, her parents were forcing her to get married. However, she stayed resilient and fought against it and now she is an inspiration to many in the society. She recently passed her class 12 examinations and wishes to become a governmental officer so that she can influence positive change in society, she told 101Reporters. Nandini, who is now 18, mentioned that even in 2015, she was aware of the laws regarding child marriage. She tried convincing her parents, tried reasoning with them, but when everything else failed, she contacted the local ward member, who helped her and was able to stop her wedding, she added.She mentioned that she has helped prevent over 20 girls from being forced into child marriage.Pancha Devi, ward member of Ward 4 in Jamui, stated that after the Nandini incident, many young girls broke their marriages. Now the girls in the village are aware and go to school and we make sure that no minor is married below 18, she added.Fear of imprisonmentIn another case, the wedding of Anokhi Kumari, 16, a resident of Rohtas, was fixed. Prior to the wedding, she was stopped from going to school. She tried to convince her parents, but it didn’t work. With the help of her three friends, Anokhi managed to make her parents aware of the laws regarding child marriage and the punishment for being involved in one. “Then they got afraid and were compelled to think about their decision, and finally, my protest was successful. I was again allowed to go to school and tuition," she added.At present, Anokhi is a student of standard 11 at Rohtas High School. Apart from her own case, she has also helped stop other child marriages in the area. In another case, Anokhi mentioned, her friend Sarita was being forced to get married, but then she, with a group of friends, spoke to Sarita’s parents and explained that they could get jailed for it. Pramila Kumar, a Jamui-based social activist, stated that the girls of the area have become vocal in asking for their rights and protesting against child marriage.The girls are a part of Sukanya club, which is an initiative by the THP, and it helps them be aware of the rights and the situation of other girls in the area. Some groups keep in touch with the block development officer and other government officials and inform them if anyone is planning a child marriage.Drop in child marriagesAccording to the National Family Health Survey-3 (NFHS-3), Bihar topped the in the country in the prevalence of child marriage with 47.8%. However, in the NFHS-4, Bihar was able to reduce the prevalence by 20%. Harjot Kaur Bamhrah, Managing Director of the Women Development Corporation, Bihar, stated that the reasons for the decline in the prevalence of child marriage are economic growth and rise in income in rural Bihar, along with the rise of girl education and other initiatives to help women.U N Mansoor, child security expert, UNICEF, Bihar, told 101Reporters that after the Baal Vivah Evam Dahej Mukt Hamara Bihar campaign, which was launched in 2017 by the Bihar government, there has been a significant drop in child marriage incidents in the state. He mentioned that the task force under the campaign is working on the district, block and panchayat levels. Also, the cases registered in Bihar child helpline reflect that earlier the girls were getting married at the age of 14-16, but now it has moved to 18-19, he added.