Help Rural Women Gain Essential Business Skills

 13 and Married-

Ranjana looks like an ordinary 13-year-old girl. However, when you look at her neck, a gleaming gold mungalsutra is visible—that is because Ranjana is married. Five months ago, Ranjana was married to her twenty-year-old husband who resides in the village of Bacheri.

She dropped out of school when she was in eighth grade. As Ranjana grew and took on the responsibilities of a woman, her mother started to worry. Ranjana’s mother had concerns about her daughter’s safety because she was alone all day and living with an alcoholic father. Her solution was to get Ranjana married.

Now Ranjana is living with her husband and mother in law in Bacheri.  Her mother in law is against Ranjana going back to school because she does not want Ranjana to be more educated than her son. Her son is a wage laborer who tries to get work wherever he can—cutting sugar cane, building houses, and crushing stones. Mann Deshi has provided another alternative for Ranjana. Through skills based workshops such as tailoring, Ranjana will gain the ability to earn an income so she can support herself and her household.

Thank you so much to Mann Deshi Supporters !