Since 2003 a privately funded high school in India has provided desperately needed education for girls from impoverished families in Lucknow, the capital and largest city in Uttar Pradesh. Urvashi Sahni, the founder of Prerna Girls School, has written a compelling narrative of how this modest school in northeast India has changed the lives of more than 5,000 girls and their families. Most important, it is through the perspectives of the girls themselves, rather than through a remote academic viewpoint, that Prerna's success unfolds.
Urvashi Sahni is an educator, social entrepreneur, and feminist activist. Apart from being an Ashoka Fellow, she is a Nonresident Fellow at the Center for Universal Education at Brookings and an adviser to the government of Rajasthan.
Foreword Preface Acknowledgments 1 Letting Girls Learn 2 The Girls' Own Stories 3 Educating Myself: Valuable Lessons for Self and Others 4 The Story of Prerna 5 Building a Universe of Care 6 Enabling Learning: Building a Web of Support 7 Developing a Feminist Consciousness: Dialogical Circles of Empowerment 8 Finding Self, Finding Home: Using Drama for Self-Work 9 Empowerment as a Social Act: From Self-Work to Social Work 10 Learning Outcomes and Beyond 11 Scaling Prerna 12 Reframing Girls' Education Epilogue: Educating Boys for Gender Justice Appendixes A Caste in India: A Brief Note B Methodology C Historical Backdrop of Girls' Education Notes Index
"Reaching for the Sky presents a model of gender transformative education and demonstrates what is possible when the rights of girls and women are the heart and soul of a school. Grounded in extensive research and critical analysis, this volume is also a key resource for educators, gender activists, and scholars, bringing a gender lens to the global discourse on the politics of education."-Nora Fyles, Head of the Secretariat, United Nations Girls' Education Initiative "This volume provides a timely reminder that while statistics matter, ultimately education speaks to the spirit and the soul. Here is an encounter with real people: with girls from the lowest caste and the poorest families, with teachers who care deeply about every student, and with Urvashi herself, who has worked hard to overcome gender prisons, including the one in her own mind. This book will captivate everyone who wants to see a better future for the hundreds of millions of girls who are at risk of being denied equality, opportunity, and a pathway out of poverty."-Julia Gillard, former Prime Minister of Australia; Distinguished Fellow, Center for Universal Education at Brookings; and Chair, Global Partnership for Education "In a world rife with gender inequalities, Urvashi Sahni offers a riveting, evocative example from India of how the most vulnerable young women in that society develop their voices, their sense of agency and self, and their abilities to influence their futures. This happens through the support of a remarkable school, steeped in feminist principles and grounded in reflection and action. Sahni's book is a tour de force that shows us how injustice can indeed be challenged and life worlds can be transformed. It presents the best writing about education in a generation."-Glynda A. Hull, Professor, Elizabeth H. and Eugene A. Shurtleff Chair in Undergraduate Education, University of California, Berkeley "Urvashi Sahni captures the spirit of the girls who face challenges in India today and efforts to surmount them in a real meaningful way. Empowerment of girls and women has been Urvashi's enduring goal for many decades, and the success stories that have emerged would encourage everyone who shares this spirit, not only on the topic of "development," but all those who want a gender-just society."-Vrinda Sarup, Secretary School Education and Literacy, Government of India, and retired Senior Officer in the Indian Administrative Service
