This is Taslima. A very confident and beautiful girl. Elegantly dressed in a Green, printed, cotton salwar suit, flashing her million dollar smile with gleaming eyes. She was born and brought up in a village in Pimple Nilakh (Pune) in a financially challenged and orthodox family. Her father is a laborer, mother is a housewife and she has four siblings.
The people around her and the financially challenged mileu put forward several hurdles in front of her growing up. Still, she had always been a bright student and also a super efficient nanny for her siblings. ‘There have been days when either I was locked up in the house to stop me from going to school or denied food”, she quips. They were trying to marry her off even before she became 18.
She completed her schooling upto SSC in Marathi medium and then switched to English for further studies in Commerce. Noone in her house can speak or understand English however Taslima can, due to her constant endeavours to learn the language. “It’s a must-have skill”, she says.
She doesnt have a mobile or even an account on any social media platforms. Her typical day starts at 5 am in the morning and ends at around 11 pm which involves a constant balancing act between family and her aspirations. She is brutally honest when she says she doesnt have any hobby because there is no time for it.
Today, she yearns to work in the field of accountancy against her family’s will and I am sure, with her determination and spirits, she will succeed….she is my iron lady…she is my Malala.
#CorporateSocialResponsibility #anudipfoundation #adaywellspent
Amita Karadkhedkar 