Woman appears for exams with 4 daughters-in-law in Nalanda, sets example

45-year-old mother-in-law Sivarati Devi's daughters-in-law Shobha Devi, Seema Devi, Veena Devi and Bindi Devi started their education six months back and managed to keep their study routine intact despite having to work as labourers and look after household chores everyday.

Nalanda: Shattering the glass ceiling together with her four daughter-in-laws, a woman from the Chandi village here appeared for the basic examination in Chandi Middle School on Sunday. The exam, organized under the Mukhyamantri Akshar Aanchal Yojana, was taken by over 9,000 women from rural areas across India. Among these were Sivarati Devi and her four daughter-in-laws.

With a rural background and barely any academic awareness among the people in the their village, the five women have become the trailblazers for women empowerment in their village. 45-year-old mother-in-law Sivarati Devi's daughters-in-law Shobha Devi, Seema Devi, Veena Devi and Bindi Devi are all proud to be among the very few educated women in their village. They started their education six months back and managed to keep their study routine intact despite having to work as labourers and look after household chores everyday.

Speaking to ETV Bharat after taking the exam, the youngest daughter-in-law, Shobha Devi said that it gives her a sense of accomplishment to do something that will help women like her to create an identity of their own. "In the past six months, all of us have learned to write names and read aloud. We have also learnt the basic, workable addition and subtraction. Now we can put our signatures on documents instead of a thumbprint," Shobha said.

Ratnesh Chaudhary, a teacher at the school these women study at, said the exam is conducted every six months and many women take it every year. However, it is rare to find five women of different ages from a single family studying and taking the exam in a single year. "This year, about 534 women appeared for the exam. Women of all ages from 15 to 45 years register for the exam. They are given training for 6 months," Chaudhary said.

"We generally teach them the basics such as alphabets, addition and subtraction. We also spread awareness about different government schemes that may help them and allow them to make the best of these schemes to their advantage. The exam is conducted every 6 months," he added. Awadhesh Kumar, another one of their teachers said all five women have studies sincerely for the past six months and are likely to pass the exams with flying colours.