Go confidently in the direction of your dreams

She comes from an impoverished family in Mumbai. With six siblings — three sisters and three brothers — and a widowed mother who earns her livelihood selling vegetables, she knew she had to do something about seeing to their future. So, she came to the land of dreams — UAE — to work in a salon.

When she arrived here some years ago, she could only speak Hindi. Being a quick learner, she soon learnt to converse in English with her clients. The first mobile phone she bought here was a source of pride and joy. She mastered all its features and soon could be seen playing games on it.

Even as she thrived in her new surroundings, her thoughts were always with her family. She was particularly close to one sister who was the mainstay of the household after she had left. This was the one who did all the cooking and cleaning while the mother focused on earning their daily bread.

In the meanwhile, one of the brothers got married and brought his wife home. Soon after the baby was born, the wife left their home without any explanation and never returned. So, now, there was a baby to look after as well.

The woman who had come here determined to save and help her family was eventually forced to go back home to help out. She cancelled her visa and burnt all her boats. But, adjusting to conditions back home wasn’t easy. Now that she had been away she could see that two of her brothers were ne’er-do-well. They contributed nothing to the household but exerted an iron grip over their sisters. Cowed by years of oppression, the three sisters at home never once thought of the injustice they were being subjected to. They accepted their lot and continued to toil uncomplainingly.

Burning with resentment even as her savings quickly dissipated, this woman, who had returned home to provide succour, soon realised that there was no changing some people. That’s when she decided to return to the UAE. At least she could provide much-needed financial help to her overworked mother and sisters.

Her employer here was kind enough to take her back. So, the nest egg is being built up again. But although she is glad she made the decision to return, her thoughts are with her three-year-old niece. She doesn’t want that little one’s wings to be clipped even before she can fly. She is fierce in her determination that the girl will never be a victim of circumstances. So, she is doing her homework. She wants to give her niece the invaluable gift of education — something she and her sisters were deprived of. She has begun making inquiries about boarding schools and when she finds the right one, she plans to enrol her there.

Big plans you might think. But I firmly believe where there’s a will, there’s a way.

In too many homes in the remotest corners of India, the education of girls is considered an unaffordable luxury. Parents might scrimp and save to send their sons to school, but the daughters are needed at home.

Her dreams for her niece may be considered unattainable, but then one knows that for every hundred girls for whom there’s no way out, there’s a Malala Yousufzai, the recent winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. She, too, came from a humble background and lived in an area where there was no gender equality. But she overcame the odds and, today, she is a beacon of hope for the underprivileged.

Some may say Malala got some lucky breaks in life, but when she started the process of learning, she had no idea what lay in store for her.

I hope more and more girls across the world who are denied this basic right will be given a chance to dream big. Sometimes, dreams do come true.