Jhinga Centre, West Bengal
Monowara Khatum teaching at the IIMPACT Learning Centre in Jhinga, West Bengal. Photo: Akshay Mahajan
“It’s story time,” says Monowara Khatum to the classroom full of girls. Today’s lesson begins with the tale of the dumb crocodile—funny, sharp, and just a little wise. The girls giggle, lean forward and listen harder. But this story is also a mirror. In its twists and turns are quiet lessons in confidence, imagination, and choice.
Monowara knows what a story can do.
She first walked into the IIMPACT Centre in Jhinga as a young girl in Class 2. At home, education wasn’t a priority. But here, something felt different. “It wasn’t just academics,” she says. “There was art, dance, stories. I began to love coming here.” Her teacher at the time—determined and patient—personally visited her parents to convince them to let her continue.
She stayed. She thrived. And she never stopped learning.
Today, at 24, Monowara is not just an alumna—she’s the teacher. She’s one of the few from her cohort who went on to graduate. Many of the others, she says quietly, got married. She didn’t.
Her path wasn’t without pressure. When she was still in college and not yet working, her parents began to raise questions. “There was a lot of worry,” she says. “They didn’t understand why I wasn’t earning yet.” But then came a call from her former teacher, Rakhida Banu, who told her about a teaching position opening at the centre. Monowara applied immediately, interviewed, and joined in 2021.
Since then, she’s been teaching girls who, like her, are just beginning to find their voices. She wants to study further—nursing, maybe—but right now, she’s focused on giving her students the same joy and possibility that once opened her own world.
“I want them to follow their dreams,” she says. “Many want to become teachers, doctors. They should be able to.”
When asked why centres like this matter, she puts it simply:
“Earlier, it didn’t matter whether a child was a boy or girl—education just wasn’t seen as important. That’s changing now. Slowly, but surely.”
Her wishlist is practical:
- More space
- A school bag for every child
- Sanitary pads for girls in Arambh Manch
And her message to those who can help?
“Support the girls who don’t yet have the opportunity. This centre gave me mine. Let it give others theirs.”
[Story and Images Credit: Akshay Mahajan]