The women of Assawarpur village in Sonepat district of Haryana rarely step out of their homes. A woman’s space here does not extend beyond, and if she works outside even when her husband has a regular income, she is easily maligned. Extending from the same dominant beliefs, the men of the village resist educating their daughters. Assawarpur has a school till Class 10, though the girls here rarely get an education beyond Class 2.

But Kashish, a Dalit, has reached Class 5 – one of only a handful of girls in her batch. Her mother Nisha Ahaldhiya has ensured that her daughter stays in school and gets a chance to follow her dreams of becoming a doctor or a teacher.