Punnagai wants to become a District Collector

Thirteen year old Punnagai* lives in Elanthagudipatti village in Sivagangai.   She studies in Grade 8 in the local school. Her  father, Stephen, works as driver and has started working extra hours to make ends meet. Her mother, Meenal, is a housewife. Punnagai  is the only child in the family.

Punnagai excels in academics and is an avid reader.  In the Superkidz centre,  she enjoys the activities and loves to interact with people.

Her father says “In Sivagangai  District, the Dowry** system is more strong.  Because of that, the parents  are scared of society. Most of the girl children are not encouraged towards higher education. They get married  around the age of 18.  But I will  make a change in my village. I will give good education to Punnagai. I desire that  Punnagai should  become the Collector of the District. She will destroy the root of the dowry system”.

Thank you, Kandace, Dennis, Jennifer, and Srinivas, for coming together to provide a year of after-school classes to Punnagai and strengthening her family’s will to overcome the dowry system.

* Name changed to protect identity

**Dowry is the money, goods or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. In India the dowry system puts a great financial burden on the daughter’s family, with many families not being able to marry off their daughters because they cannot afford to pay the dowry. Though demanding dowry is illegal, it is still widely practiced across the country.