Meet Reena pishi and Payel. Reena does the cleaning and laundry at my grandparents’ house where I grew up. Her daughter, Payel was probably my earliest childhood friend and we used to play together all the time. She is in 10th grade and will soon take an exam which will determine her rank within the district. I talked to her mother about her plans for Payel’s future and after 12th grade, she plans on marrying Payel off to a good husband. Shocked that she would stop Payel’s education so abruptly, I asked her why and she told me that they are “slum people” and in their world if a girl is not married young, her value decreases as she gets older. Also, college cost money and they simply did not have the money to send her anywhere.

For all the female empowerment India has witnessed lately, a lack of access to education remains one of biggest factors contributing to poverty in India. Public schools in India are grossly inadequate when it comes to preparing students for college. Most middle and upper-class families pay for private tutoring. For many kids, this is the only way they can gain admission into the highly competitive professional colleges of their choice. And as of 2008, there are only enough college seats to serve 7% of India’s college-age population. The rest, especially those who are in the same situation as Payel, must find whatever work they can.