Reshma

age 16, unmarried in India

Reshma attends school. But she also wanted to enroll in the local Life Skills program to learn practical skills that aren't taught in the regular classroom.

Her father said, “No.” He does not allow her to leave the apartment on her own, or even to speak in front of her elders. It took the persuasive efforts of two instructors from the Life Skills course to finally convince him to let her give it a try.

Once enrolled, she seized upon an opportunity to take on her first leadership role when the Life Skills program started a cricket team. She asked her parents over and over again if she could participate. “Do girls play cricket?!” Reshma’s father was concerned about the boys who might loiter nearby during evening practices. But he relented after Reshma went on a two-day hunger strike, and he came to understand how much playing on the team really meant to her.

Reshma and her mother enjoy a lighthearted moment

Before long, Reshma was captain and manager, leading her team to victory over nine others in her neighborhood. She was selected by her schoolmates and principal to compete in a state-level sports meet. And this girl who a short time before could not leave the house on her own, won first prize in several track and field events.

For now, the thought of marriage holds little appeal for Reshma. “I want to graduate with a bachelor’s degree, and maybe be a police captain. Until I stand on my own two feet and make something of myself, I will not get married,” Reshma says.