A School for Girls

The school project in Khadigram

Around 800 BC Manu Smriti's statute book was set down. People in India still orientate to this statute book today. You can find the following words there:

"The man may be the head.
Son and wife the shoulders and belly.
Its shade are the servants.
The daughter, however, is the worst misery."

Khadigram was founded by people who followed Mahatma Gandhi's ideas, in 1955, shortly afer India's independence. A group of people bought fallow land. They started to cultivate it and are still doing so today. The philosophy of life is based of Gandhi's idea of a self-sufficient village.The Gandhians produce the things for everyday's live on their own, if possible. They even produce the food on their own. Cultivation of rice, fruit and vegetables is included, of course. Gandhians are strictly vegetarian. Their highest command is not to kill any living creature. It is quite common to wear the "Khadi", made of hand woven clothes. The material seems to be little rough, but, particularly because of the high temperatures in this area they are very comfortable to wear. The method of construction of the houses, which are mostly built from mud, is very simple. For construction, machines are very seldom used, but lots of human labour. That is an opportunity for the people out there to earn a little extra  money. In a region, where the unemployment rate is nearly 80 percent, this is very important. But even for the Gandhians time doesn't stand still. Not everything can be produced in self-direction. That starts with the production of tooth paste and doesn't stop with telephones or computers. Still the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi is abroad in this country and especially in this region.

The most famous example is Gandhi's idea about women's education. He once said:

"To educate a man means to educate a lifetime,
to educate a woman means to educate a generation."



How true! To take first, women educate their children, pass on tradition as well as values to the following generation. To convince our indian partners to join the project was quite easy, thanks to Gandhi's idea of educating women. They place great emphasis on educating women and girls. The buildings and compound we need for the school belong to "Shramabharati", the gandhianian head-organization. Buildings and compound were put to our disposal permanently and rent-free. Nothing stands in the way of gradually developing Maedchenschule Khadigram on the Indian side. There is no support from the indian government at all. The school project is run by donations, sponsorships and godparenthoods.

The girls at Maedchenschule Khadigram originate from Adivasi (tribal) and Dalit (untouchables) families. It is very important to help and educate these girls, because they have only very little chances to attend school, due to their affilation to the so called sheduled or backward casts. While going to school in Khadigram the girls live in the hostel that is attached to the school. The Maedchenschule is a kind of boarding school, because the distances between the parent's houses and the school are very long and it is not possible for the children to cover this distances twice a day. The girls would be exhausted by the walk and could not concentrate on the lessons. Furthermore it might be the case that they would come to school without having had breakfast, what would also not be helpful to their concentration. People arround Khadigram often do not have enough to eat for the whole familiy, and the girls are the ones that are badly treated when it comes to food. The male family members take precedence regarding food. This is a tradition, too. The women always have the remaining food left by the men - a sign of obsequiousness. The participation at school lessons is made impossible by a permanent hungry feeling. Another problem at the parent's house is that the girls are not very well treated and would not be protected from very hard physical work, in addition to the mental work at school. This overworking would make a school attendance nonsensical. This points out the the hostel's importance.

At Maedchenschule Khadigram basic knowledge is obtained. The time of school attendance is four years. There are no school holidays during these three years, the girls are allowed to visit their families only for national holidays and wedding ceremonies. The relatives are allowed to visit the children twice a month. The parents had to accept these rules and sign them. Most of the parents signed per thumbprint, because they are illiterate. They had to ensure that the daughters will attend school for four years and are not taken out before the end of these three years. This might sound very hard and rigid, but it is absolutely necessary. Four years of school are a very short time and we want the girls to get a knowledge as well sound as possible. After four years at Maedchenschule Khadigram, the girls can easily catch up to class six of the government schools. The lessons at our school are based on the contents given by the government. Although they attend school for only four years the connection is possible, because at Maedchenschule Khadigram, the lessons are concentrated and there are no lessons cancelled. If the girls want to continue school, the parents have to approve and finance it. There is compulsary school attendance in India and the attendance is free of cost. But there are things such as school uniforms, books and other utensils that have to be bought. And most of the families can not afford that. Another question is, if families pay that much money for educating a girl. The fact that girls are very "old" when they finish school at Khadigram is a further point. They have to be married as quickly as possible, because it is a shame to have an unmarried daughter of this age.

Attending school is very difficult for the girls, especially in the beginning. They are not used to sitting still and concentrating on the lesson's issues for such a long time. Up to then their job was to collect firewood, to bring water to the houses from far away wells, feeding the animals and taking care of either the animals or the younger sisters and brother or even both. Furthermore they had to cook the meals for their families. In other words they had to do physically hard work. For these children it is not important to do percise finger-work as western children learn from a very early age. They do not need it for the everyday#s work and now have to learn it in a long process. They often are unable to hold a pencil.

Due to these circumstances the girls need quite a long time to get used to everyday's school life. One of the most important arguments for keeping the girls in the hostel is that they can attend school regularly. There would be many reasons for not sending them to school every day. A reason might be to bring in the harvest or the parents just need their daughter's labour on the fields. Perhaps the mother has just had another baby and needs someone who takes care of it. The worst case could be that an uncle is interested in the girl and wants to marry her.

Child marriage is quite common in this region where old traditions still are predominant, although legally prohibited. As long as the pupils live in the hostel, it is much easier to protect them from all these excesses. It is the chance to offer them possibilities they wouldn't have if they lived at home. At the hostel the girls get regular meals, which is very important for their physical and mental development. It is easier to teach them hygiene and supervise the homework they have to do.


The girls experience new situations at Maedchenschule. They experience socialisation by having meals together with the others, they sleep in dormitories (10 girls in one), they learn and play together. For us this seems nothing special. But regarding the indian society, it is special. And so it is unusual and new for the children. The purity regulations lay down that it is impure to do all those things together with other people, especially if they belong to the stratum of society. Because of these purity regulations Adivasi and Dalit do not sit next to each other, especially not for having a meal. Now the girls learn that it is possible, that nothing happens to them if they deal with each other. Even the opposite is the case! They win new friends and that is extremely important for the future and a peaceful living together.

To promote education means to promote peace as well!