We Will Study!

School closures have pushed rural girls in India back into a life of labour, underage marriage and gendered roles. It’s time their voices are heard

- Shantha Sinha

In March 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic took firm hold, government-mandated lockdowns led to a blanket closure of schools and colleges—staying safe by staying home being the need of the hour. Amongst the many groups adversely affected by this policy—and extraordinarily so—were children, particularly girls in rural India, for whom the chance to be educated was the result of hard-won battles against gender discrimination and social pressures to conform to traditional roles earmarked for women.

“I convinced my parents not to discontinue my classes. They supported me fully and even begun enquiring about where I should go for my next level of education. The closure of schools has changed this situation completely,” says Sandhya from Nuthankal, a small village in Telangana, who had reached the 10th grade at her local school. She has now begun farm work since further learning is no longer an option. In the nearby village of Kandagatla, Lakshmi, an 11th grader, remembers fighting with her parents for permission to commute to the nearest high school eight kms away, assuring them that she could take care of herself and her safety. Before the lockdown, parents of these children had stopped pressuring daughters to get married, hopeful that a better future might be in store.

According to the 2021 UNICEF report,