Representative Image. | Photo Credit: IANS

Gorakhpur: Two teenage girls from Uttar Pradesh have been honoured by the state government after it was found they had pretended to be boys for four years to run their father’s barbershop when he became seriously ill. Jyoti Kumari, 18, and her 16-year-old sister, Neha, started taking care of their father’s salon in rural Uttar Pradesh after he became ill in 2014. The shop was initially closed but as it was the only source of income for the family the girls decided to run it themselves.

The incident came to light after a Gorakhpur based journalist covered the story. The girls hail from Banwari Tola, a village in Padrauna, Kushinagar.

They said that at first, the customers were reluctant about having getting their hairdo by young women, while many did not behave properly with them after which they decided to change their getup so that they are not identified by others.

They got their hairs trimmed and adopted the male names Deepak and Raju. Their identity was known to the villagers but most of the people from the neighbouring areas had no idea about their real identity.

Later, the customers did not bother about their true identity and were touched by this noble gesture.

Dhruv Narayan, the proud father of the girls said that it troubles him that his daughters are working hard but he is proud of their achievement as they managed to get their family out of the financial crisis. The girls earn around Rs 400 per day and most of their income is used for their fathers’ treatment. Banwari Tola village has now become well-known after their story got widespread coverage in the local newspapers.

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