Shilpa becomes a strong advocate against child marriage in her village, sending more girls back to school

An Educate Girls’ Field Coordinator needs to be confident and fearless as they help break down age-old prejudices about gender, to ensure every girl in their village is in school. They must step out of their comfort zone to confront people about their biases and advocate for change. Shilpa Gautam is a shining example of this kind of bravery. A young Field Coordinator from a village in the Maharajganj district in Uttar Pradesh, Shilpa has been with Educate Girls for two years. She is a vocal opponent of child marriage in her village, often risking her own safety by reporting parents of such children to the authorities. She actively persuades these parents to enrol their daughters in school instead.

Shilpa’s father Awadh is a farmer and mother Vidya is a housewife. She has two brothers and two sisters. Shilpa enjoyed going to school, but unfortunately, her father was not very supportive of educating his daughters. It was her mother who encouraged and pushed for the education of all her children. Today, their family is one of the most educated families in the village.

Her village is located along the Indo-Nepal border and many families here migrate to Nepal in search of work. This prevents young children from going to school regularly. Her village is also quite well known for practising child marriage.

Shilpa has always held strong opinions against child marriage. She has been involved in social work since she was young. She used to worry about the future of her village. Then, she began devoting a lot of her time to making villagers aware about the dangers of child marriage. Whenever she heard that a child was about to get married in her village, she would call the government helpline number for child protection. She has even stopped child marriages in adjoining villages.
Shilpa has always been an advocate for girls’ education and becoming a Field Coordinator helped catalyse her efforts. With the support and resources of the organisation, she found it easier to initiate conversations.

She regularly organises community meetings to explain the importance of education. She also joins her colleagues in adjacent villages to help identify children who are being deprived of an education. Her biggest contribution has been helping parents collect the necessary documents needed for enrolment. There are very few modes of transport available from the village to the nearest city. Because of this, many children don’t have their Aadhar card (Govt. of India identification card). Shilpa escorts their parents to the city and guides them in applying for one.

Shilpa says, “This journey has not been easy. I have had to face many challenges and I have tried several approaches to bring the people of my village onto the path of education. I believe all my efforts have had a role to play in the reduction of the number of child marriages in my village and it makes me very proud to think so.”