Age is not a barrier: Elderly Indian women go to school

A little before 2 pm each day, when residents of Phangane village in India’s Maharashtra state usually take a quick nap in the heat of the day, elderly women in bright pink sarees head towards a colorful hut, clutching satchels and plastic bags. Inside the hut, festooned with streamers and flowers, the women gingerly sit cross-legged on cotton rugs on the mud floor, and pull out slates, notebooks, chalk and pencils. Minutes later, a younger woman leads them in a prayer song before they begin reciting the Marathi alphabet after her.

The Aajibaichi Shala, or grandmothers’ school, is perhaps the only one in India for uneducated, elderly women. Set up by a charitable trust and Yogendra Bangar, a teacher at the village’s primary school, the school teaches the women to read and write, and basic arithmetic. “These women did not have the opportunity to study when they were young,” said Bangar. “It’s not as if they want to go to college or work in an office now. But they do want to be able to read and write, and sign their names, like everyone else in their families.”

Literacy levels in India have steadily risen over the past decades as the economy expanded and greater emphasis was placed on education. But women still lag men, particularly in rural areas, where girls are often not sent to class or are pulled out after primary school so they can work at home or in the fields. While 79 percent of India’s rural men are literate, the rate for women is only 59 percent, according to official data. Aajibaichi Shala was set up last year for women over 60 to mark the International Women’s Day on March 8. It was first run out of the home of the woman who was the sole teacher, 30-year-old Sheetal More. The opening day was celebrated like a festival, with entire families accompanying the women to their first day of school, More said. Since then, classes have been moved to a purpose-built hut in her backyard, in the shade of a large mango tree. “At first I was a bit nervous about teaching such elderly women. Even my mother-in-law comes to class,” said More, who has finished high school. “But they are all so eager, and behave just like little children in class. Every other teacher teaches children; only I have the opportunity to teach elderly women,” she said.

There is little to distinguish Phangane from other villages in the western state, one of India’s wealthiest. About 120 km from the bustling financial hub of Mumbai, the village of 70 families is a tidy enclave, with clean mud roads and brick homes divided by fences and gardens. During the day, women go about their chores, cleaning, cooking and tending to the livestock and young grandchildren. About 30 women aged 60 to 90 years attend classes for two hours in the afternoon, six days a week. In the past year, they have learned the Marathi alphabet, numbers and can write their names, Bangar said. — Reuters