My mother who passed away in 2013 in Nashik city(India) used to tell me her story of going to school in her childhood especially when I used to complain to walk down to my school in which was barely more than a half kilometer away!
Well my school days have been in late seventies so my mothers schooling was in the time prior to independence of India
(1947 yr)
Very few girls continued in those days their high school education to complete matriculation.Also sending girls to walk to a school in the city was not approved and was tiresome due to lack of infrastructure. But my grandfather, being a teacher himself; continued his daughter’s education.They resided away from the city as he was working in a boarding school(boys only,girls school were rare )in outskirts of Nashik near Gangapur village. He had a gents bicycle (which ladies due to the then attire; could not ride due to the rod being fixed between seat and handle) and he taught my mother to ride it! But as per the customs prevalent , very few girls would complete matriculation.They used to wear saree instead of school uniform as per Indian customs and tradition.
Riding a bicycle in a saree was very cumbersome and so my mother started avoiding school.Then my grandmother taught her to wear the nine yard maharashtrian saree .(well very few know how to tie such saree as of the day you get these ready- stitched to wear).
But the way maharashtrian nineyard saree is tied women can even ride a horse my grandmother explained to my mother like lady warriors like tarabai & Manu(Jhansi ki rani).
So my mother rode the bicycle in her nineyard sarer without getting awkward of the peoples gazes to her school!
Even the rains did not hinder her,she learned to balance the bicycle with one hand and an umbrella in another.
Thinking of it now ..my mother did break the glass ceiling of the then society to complete her matriculation and go on to college.
So girls there is always the first time to make way for our gender, women had done it before and will do it in future …
Mrs. Nandini Mujumdar,
Pune,India.