According to the Gender Vulnerability Index (GVI) 2017, Jharkhand ranks 27th out of 30 states. Jharkhand’s low ranking reflects on challenges like high rates of child marriage, gender-based violence, and low female literacy rates.
In a parallel universe, the girls at Yuwa have a different story to tell.
Hundreds of guests visit Yuwa India, a sports and education-based not-for-profit organisation that works with girls in rural Jharkhand, and nearly everyone shares the same observation: “The girls are so confident!”
Curious to understand the roots, I spoke with staff and students about what fosters this confidence. My narrative reflects the collective voices of Yuwa’s students and educators.
Cultural Context:
“Most Yuwa girls belong to families where women or girls are supposed to take accountability for their family chores inside and outside their houses. This self-accountability is learnt early and translates into the work they put into their education”
Pinki Rawat, Head Teacher, Yuwa School
All of the girls at Yuwa come from backgrounds where they are asked to take up a central role in the family from an early age. Their extensive roles as caregivers, responsibilities on their farm, and household chores are situations where they are forced to take ownership and show resilience from an early age.
“Character building is already happening with the girls since the day they were born because they were born as girls. Since the time they are born, they are told, “This piece of food won't be for you. It would be for your brother.”, “We will send your brother to school, not you.” “You are only here to work and to get married”. The girls at Yuwa have fought all this their entire lives so far and that in itself has built the foundations of their character”
A former teacher, at Yuwa School
Contextualised Programs at Yuwa:
Football Program:
“I feel so free of all my problems when I play football with my team. My team is my strength”
Collective response from Class X, Yuwa School
At Yuwa, the football team culture is all about creating a safe space, building sisterhood, and motivating each other to keep improving every day. Girls as young as five are introduced to this environment, offering them a world distinct from the challenges they face at home, where their self-worth or even existence is often questioned. Football practices run six days a week throughout the year, led by “Didis” from their villages who have grown through Yuwa’s football programme.
Opportunities such as being the captain of a team, and travelling to play tournaments are also part of the programme. The consistent exposure to the culture of their football team since their early childhood reinforces the confidence in the girls throughout adolescence.
The coaches, some as young as 15, take on the responsibility of finding and forming teams, composed of girls from their villages. This gives them agency from a young age to mobilise a group of people, even toward an unpopular act — in this case, creating a girls' football team in their locality.
Coaching not only equips the girls with leadership skills but also provides financial support for their education, thereby encouraging them to be financially independent from a young age.
“When I listen to Paras bhaiya (the head of the football program) motivate me to speak up and get better, I wish to be the same kind of coach with my players”
Pushpa, Class IX, Yuwa School
Life Skills Program:
The life skills programme is designed based on the everyday experiences and challenges faced by the girls of rural Jharkhand. The curriculum evolves each year based on feedback from the participants and alumni of the program. Its themes have included sexual and reproductive rights, child rights, health and nutrition, and financial and future planning. The safe space that is built in the football teams is extended for discussing sensitive topics often considered taboo in their villages.
The life skills sessions cover issues such as recognising appropriate and inappropriate touch, menstrual hygiene or the consequences of child marriage, making the learning relevant and reflective of the girl's real-life experiences and encouraging them to speak up. In most cases, the facilitators are also the girls’ football coaches making it easier for them to trust them to share their opinions or lived experiences.
The facilitators self-evaluate each session by reflecting on how many girls participated thus consciously creating an atmosphere where more voices are encouraged and heard.
"My daughter has been learning topics like good touch and bad touch that I had no idea about at her age. Most young girls are alone at home with very little supervision or support, as most parents work all day. Hence, these conversations are so important to have with the girls to make them aware and seek support."
Jigyasa, Parent and member of the parents committee at Yuwa
Yuwa School:
“I have a lot of freedom at Yuwa school. The teachers encourage us to not be afraid to ask questions and do not punish us for making mistakes”
Collective response from Class VII, Yuwa School
“Yuwa is like my second home. I feel free to show all my emotions”
Chanchala, Class X, Yuwa School
The school and classroom atmosphere encourages girls to speak up, and ask questions and is a non-judgmental space for them to share their opinions and views.
The teachers at Yuwa school build a psychologically safe environment for the girls to be who they are. They play an important role in shaping the time and trajectory of the girls in and beyond Yuwa School by wearing multiple hats of college counselling, mentorship and application support for various opportunities. They also plan for extracurricular activities twice a week during school hours and lead spaces like morning circles and morning meetings to talk about various challenges the girls go through and find ways to navigate them with them.
Hence the teachers become role models who the girls look up to in their daily lives.
"The girls get the idea of being unapologetic about the space they take up, which gets reinforced by their teachers in the classroom at Yuwa school every day. A girl at Yuwa school is not someone to be silenced, she is to be celebrated. I have seen that once a girl finds her ability to speak up in the classroom, she won’t stop. Freedom is like wildfire in that way. Yuwa is a place where girls receive love and affirmation that lifts them to new heights. Here, girls are given countless opportunities to succeed, to fail, to try again. They learn that they are capable human beings. After all, if they can change their own lives by choosing to invest in their own education, why can’t they change the whole world, too?"
Payton Souders, English Teacher, Yuwa School
The school day begins with an individual presentation on creative topics like “Festivals around the world”, “The changes around me,” or “My superpower” through drama, poem, dance, and other creative means. Many girls have expressed that these presentations are one of the most contributing factors to their comfort speaking in front of a group of people from a young age.
“I still remember the day Sonakshi stood in front of everyone in the assembly. The only words that came out of her mouth were “My name is Sonakshi”. But, did you see her now? You see how confident she is today?”
Shanti, Class X, Yuwa School
In essence, the resilience these girls develop from an early age, together with Yuwa’s contextually relevant programs, the dedication of its facilitators, and opportunities to nurture social, professional, and leadership skills, collectively contribute to building their confidence.
The overlapping nature of Yuwa programs — football, life skills, family outreach and school allows the girls to consistently be exposed to a thriving environment that allows them to manoeuvre through their vulnerabilities with assistance and guidance from staff.
Ankita Sanyal, Lifeskills programme coordinator and teacher at Yuwa School.
Confidence, at its core, is a person’s ability to trust in their own potential. While often seen as an innate trait, my conversations with the girls and staff at Yuwa deepened my understanding that confidence can be cultivated through time and supportive environments. For any child, their social environment forms their immediate world. At Yuwa, the organisation and its team become a vital part of this world, equipping the girls to navigate the challenges of the broader world beyond. To me, this highlights the transformative power of educational spaces as microcosms of the societal change we aspire to create.
Curious to meet the girls and witness their confidence? Plan a visist to Yuwa, anytime through the year!
(Sruthi Dharuman currently serves as Principal with Yuwa, India. Yuwa is a non-profit organisation that enables girls in rural Jharkhand, India to take their futures into their own hands.)
