The twinkling rays of the sun filter through old, cracked wooden windows, making interesting golden patterns on the wall of my room. Perched on the window are the regular early morning visitors singing a song in hoarse caws. These birds are my 5am alarm every dawn, interspersed with prayers from the distant mosque.

Every day, I make tea and breakfast for my entire family, and lunch for myself to take to work. I travel for an hour, sharing a carpool with strangers to reach the office. My typical day at work consists of preparing for my classes, and then teaching them, starting usually at 2.30pm. I always take time out in the evening to spend with my pupils (all girls), interacting with them, sharing their joys and sorrows, and helping them discover ways that they can address any challenges they are currently facing.

I come from a humble family, originally from the eastern Indian state of Bihar. My father, a watch mechanic, struggled to feed his family of six as tooth-gears inside watches gave way to digital technology. Being the eldest of four siblings, I took up family responsibilities early and dropped out of school at 16 years old. However, I resumed studies after a gap of a year by saving money: I knew that education was the only weapon to fight my family’s poverty. Looking for new avenues for work, my father decided to relocate our family to Delhi in 2006. There I finished secondary school and took a job as a teacher in a private school. I saved for my college tuition and enrolled in a bachelor’s degree in education after a gap of four years.

Today, I am a mentor with Room to Read, a global education charity, and teach girls in lower middle class at the Jasola Village Centre in Delhi. I’m responsible for implementing the charity’s Girls Education programme. The programme ensures that girls complete secondary school and have the skills to succeed inside the classroom and beyond. We are the first point of contact for the girls, the schools and parents and, therefore, critical to the success of the programme. 

At the school, I conduct regular sessions for approximately 80 girls on life skills and group mentoring. The activities and sessions focus on skills development in the areas of building confidence, assertiveness and negotiation skills. These skills are critically important in India, where many girls face numerous obstacles standing in the way of their education. From child marriage to child labour, I work with the girls and their families to demonstrate the value of going to school. My work also takes me outside of the school and into the homes of the girls I mentor. On these occasions, I meet with the families of the girls and ask if there are any issues or areas of concern related to their child’s education.

In the beginning, it wasn’t for me to work for Room to Read. Since I live in a Muslim-dominated community in Faridabad near Delhi, I faced backlash from the orthodox members, who believed that, as a woman, I should not step out of the house to work. Also, I was subject to taunts from the community for not covering my head or putting a veil on my face.

Most families believe that girls should get married at a young age. One of my goals is to change this attitude within the community in Jasola. The life-skills sessions, which include critical thinking, negotiation skills and assertiveness training, help girls become advocates for themselves and communicate why they should continue to go to school instead of getting married. I enjoy spending time with the girls and when they start applying the life skills I’ve taught them in their daily life, I’m so proud. If there was one thing I could change, it would be imparting life skills sessions to boys as well.

When the sun is low in the sky and the birds wing their way back home, I make my way home through the narrow by-lanes of Delhi. After reaching home, I conduct tuition classes for children from grade 6 to 9, until 9pm. I then cook dinner for my family and when the lanes fall silent from the barking of stray dogs, I always thank God for the day. 

Shaheen Parveen is a Room to Read Girls’ Education programme mentor in India