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Writer's pictureSamanta

Humans of Forest - II

SHEETAL- A mother who dreams


Sheetal ( name changed) is a young mother to four lovely kids. She got married when she was 16 years of age.

She says

"Didi, 16 is a good time to get married according to the cultural and societal norms"


Sheetal is a happy individual who loves learning new things, exploring herself and also is a wonderful community mobiliser. Her husband is a daily wage labourer, due to which there are times when the family has nothing to eat. Sheetal use to love reading, writing and draw paintings as a child and in her adolescence. She use to decorate the walls of the hut and floor with paintings. As she grew due to limited access to resources she started to engage in family chores. The rising family responsibilities took a toll and she couldn't continue.


She is a dreamer always ready to take initiative. A dream to write a book on her life is all she talks about as we sit with her in the hut. She says.

"Didi, my life story is very interesting and challenging. I have faced discrimination since childhood days because of my sex, caste and poverty."

As the eldest daughter of her parents she saw her mother facing the verbal abuse, violence and neglect of society as she gave brith to a girl children. Sheetal firmly believes that gender discrimination is one thing we must fight against!


She carries on to share her thoughts

"Didi, girls have equal rights in the world. They all deserve good education, health and access to living."


In these tough times as COVID-19 is spreading its wings, Sheetal takes the lead by walking deep inside the forest to collect the grass. She then sells the collected grass to earn her living as she tackles the issue of typhoid and weakness. She is one such curious being who always has a list of questions. Her knowledge is limited, but she works really hard to learn new things.


Sheetal is documenting her experiences, her dreams and the changes she seeks in the society. We will be sharing the write up in details in coming times! Stay tuned!






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