Let Me Be a Girl, Not a Bride - Girls' Education

We are very proud that our student Anisha  is one 2,000 students who passed Nepal’s common entrance exam for medical school this year out of 18,000 applicants.“My aim is to become the first dental surgeon in my community,” she proudly tells us at The Small World’s office in Kathmandu. 

She drove all the way from Salleri, district capital of the Solukhumbu region, the day before (which is a 10-hour drive) just to share the news to us and ask for help. You see, if Anisha is unable to pay 11 lakh rupees (approximately US $8,500) by the end of April 2023, then her dream of being admitted to medical school will not be realized. 

Despite being one of just 560 prospective students selected to study dental surgery this year, Anisha’s family is not in a position to support her financially.

Even though Anisha’s father has a job - he himself is an oral hygienist - his earnings alone are not enough to support his family and send his daughter to university. Throughout high school, she received full scholarships, but now Anisha is out on her own. Unfortunately, the Nepali government does not offer bursaries to cover the tuition cost for the first year $ 8500 including admission, hostel, and rest four (4) years each year USD 4000.

“I have no idea what I’ll do if I can’t go to university,” she says. Already she has overcome so much to get where she is today - she had to leave the comfort and safety of her family home in Salleri and live alone in Kathmandu to go to a good science high school. 

“My mom was very nervous to send me to Kathmandu, but my father told me I have to do it if I want a better life for myself.” 

Her father and the support of The Small World has been the inspiration and driving force behind Anisha’s academic excellence. While many parents in communities from Nepal’s countryside discourage their daughters from pursuing an education, Anisha’s dad has been supporting her every step of the way. The Small World is the only hope in finding a way to get admitted into medical school.

While Anisha has been lucky to have a caring, supportive family, members of her community back home have not always been so kind. Anisha belongs to the Dalit caste - a so-called ‘low caste’ which often faces discrimination in all aspects of life. When Anisha was younger she remembers some families not allowing her into their homes, or not letting her play with their children because she was a Dalit. 

Even though the caste system was legally abolished some time ago, people’s perceptions (especially in rural areas) are slow to change. In workplaces it’s also fairly common that Dalits and other marginalized castes face blatant discrimination and will often be overlooked for jobs, even if they are more educated or skilled than their so-called ‘higher caste’ competitors. 

Despite the lack of warmth she has felt from some people in her society, Anisha is still determined to get qualified as a dentist and go back to serve her community. “In Salleri I see many children with dental problems… I want to help people, but also, I want to fight discrimination there,” she says. 

Anisha explains that marginalized groups like women, lower castes, and elderly people often cannot get good healthcare, either because of financial constraints or societal misconceptions. “I want to decrease the gap between Dailts and other communities. If I become the first Dalit doctor in my community, this will be empowering to other Dalits also.”

The doctor-to-population ratio for the whole country is 1:1724.         Like most developing nations, doctors are geographically mal- distributed in Nepal. The Kathmandu valley has one doctor for 850 people but in rural areas, the number is one doctor for every 150000 people.

She also believes that if she becomes a qualified medical professional and returns to Solukhumbu, she could serve as an inspiration to other young women there. In Nepal’s mountain villages, many girls are taken out of school early to work at home or get married off. “I hope to become a role model within my community, and raise awareness about what daughters can do when they are educated.”