National Daughters Day: Daughters Support Families While Pursuing Education

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The traditional notion that daughters are a burden, due to the cost of upbringing, education and dowry, continues to persist. Unlike sons, daughters are often seen as unable to support their families financially.

On the eve of National Daughters Day, Free Press spoke with four young daughters from Bhopal who are challenging this stereotype. Despite financial challenges, they work to support their families while continuing their education, proving daughters are assets and pillars of strength.

‘No one told me to work’

Nineteen-year-old Aashi Chidar lost her mother 12 years ago. Her father drives a rented auto-rickshaw, and her younger brother is still in school. To support her family, Aashi teaches Grade 3 children for Rs 2,200 a month.

“I am up at 6 am, leave at 11 am for a nearby school, return by 4 pm to give tuitions, then do household work. Close to midnight, I study,” she says.

Aspiring to become an SSP, she has applied for constable recruitment and an SSC exam. “My father never told me to work; I chose to support him on my own,” she said.

‘Taunts don’t bother me’

Twenty-year-old Khushi has worked as a Rapido rider for three years while preparing for her Grade 12 exams as a private candidate. Her father is a daily-wage labourer, and her mother is a housewife.

She works from 8 am to 12 noon and again in the evening, earning about Rs 500 a day. “I keep some money for myself and give the rest to my mother,” she says. Facing taunts is common; an auto driver once told her a young girl shouldn’t work as a Rapido driver, but Khushi ignores such remarks.

‘Ghar ki madad’

Aarti Prajapati, 21, works for an NGO, teaches at a coaching institute and stitches clothes at home. Though her total monthly earnings are less than Rs 10,000, they significantly help her family, which includes her father who does manual labour, a housewife mother, and three younger siblings.

Pursuing a BA in humanities from Bhoj Open University, she says, “Mere kaam se gharmeinmadadhojateehai.” Aarti hopes to join the police but is too short; she now aims to become a teacher.

‘Budhape ka sahara’

“In my community, parents don’t send daughters to school. I know the importance of education,” says 21-year-old Zeenat Khan. Her father drives a loading auto, and she has three sisters. She often hears that without a son, parents have no “budhape ka sahara” (support in old age).

Zeenat disagrees. Working with an NGO, she teaches children in her basti and has enrolled in an MBA programme after graduation. “Daughters are not a burden; they are an asset. They don’t represent weakness, they represent strength,” she says.