INDIA. Tikuri. 09 November 2022.
Divya consulting young women at her village.

Divya Chaudhry, 16-year-old, lives in Tikuri district, in Madhya Pradesh the state with the fifth largest population in the India. The region boasts of a rich cultural and wildlife heritage but it’s hunted by drought and economic crisis. Malnutrition, hunger, high infant and child mortality are prevalent. While it witness a large scale migration, the gender ratio is skewed with 925 females per 1,000 men in Chhatarpur, compounding the already distressing situation. Divya and her sister could choose to prioritise education in their life thanks to the role of their family.
Their mother 37-year-old Miradevi Ahirwal has been an ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) supervisor since 2018. She manages and trains a cadre of 18 ASHAs under her, serving a total of 10,000 families in the region. Her primary role is sensitizing women about the contraceptive basket of choices available to them, including counselling on family planning.
In spite of incredible social pressure, Divya’s parents chose to stop childbearing after their two daughters, considering their family complete. They wanted to invest all their resources into their daughters because unlike the popular narrative in their region, they did not consider their daughters a burden, but young girls who had untapped and unlimited potential.

Divya says : ““My parents are my biggest supporters…they have my sister and I with every opportunity…I am now in my final year of school, and have topped my class. I have chosen the science field because just like my mother, I want to work for women’s health.”

“What particularly piqued my interest was the RKSK (Youth and Adolescent Health programme in India) workshop that took place in my school. I was able to participate actively, and soon I was shortlisted to represent my district in the monthly meetings to further educate young people on their health concerns and issues.”