Because I Am A Girl  (English, Paperback, PLAN)

These are stories of seven different women from varied backgrounds, who overcame adverse situations to find a better future for themselves.

Summary Of The Book

This book was commissioned by Plan India, an organization that works for child welfare, as part of their campaign against gender inequality.
The stories have been compiled by seven different women, well known and successful women from various fields such as writers, artists, TV personalities, and actors. They ventured into unfamiliar territory to get these stories of seven women who overcame severe odds to create a better life for themselves.

Aditi Rao Hydari meets a woman who decides to put herself through a nursing course after she lost her husband to tuberculosis. While she is doing the course, she also works as an apprentice at a hospital. Nafisa Ali Sodhi meets a young rag picker who also happens to be a very bright student.

Anjum Hasan visits a village in Rajasthan where young girls are pushed into prostitution by their own family. Pooja Bedi learns why a young woman who came to get an ultrasound scan decided against killing her unborn girl child. Namrita Bhachchan spends a day with a young girl who not only holds her own in the male dominated vegetable market in Delhi’s Govindpuri Sabzi Market, but also makes quite a success of it. Besides which, she is learning to read and write after her job is over.

Shahana Goswami tells the story of a young girl who had to drop out of school, but took a beautician’s course and has plans of setting up her own beauty salon. Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan meets a young girl, who while still in college, also works at a data entry job. Radha is a confident young woman who wants to do something meaningful with her future, and is confident of her ability to resist her family’s plans to marry her off to her uncle.

With an introduction by Govind Nihalani, and presented by famous women, this selection of stories of women who triumphed over odds is an inspiring book. Plan India compiled these stories as a tribute to the spirit of women and their unique attributes, strength, and resilience.