In India, woman wins race barefoot for her daughters’ education — BBC News
In the western Indian state of Maharashtra, 47-year-old widow Ramabai Ranvir won a 3 km race barefoot to receive prize money for books and study materials for her two daughters. In August, she took part in a local race without athletic training or running shoes, BBC News reports.
Prize for books
Ranvir, who lives in Beed district, won the women’s category for participants aged 30 to 60. During the race, her slippers kept slipping off, so she took them off, gathered up her sari and continued running barefoot. The woman received 3,000 rupees, or about $31, for first place.
Her older daughter, Pooja, also took part in the competition and came second in her age category. Her younger daughter, Arati, lives in Nanded and needed money for books. According to Ranvir, she decided to run because she could not send Arati money for study materials.
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Work and her daughters’ education
Ramabai Ranvir has supported the family on her own since her husband died in 2012. She said that she worked in other people’s fields, harvesting soybeans and chickpeas, and also processed and sold turmeric. She now works as a cook at a coaching centre where Pooja is preparing for police recruitment.
Ranvir herself left school at the age of 13. One of her daughters is preparing for police recruitment, while the other is preparing for civil service examinations. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant instructed local authorities to provide Ranvir with financial assistance of 50,000 rupees.
Problems with access to education
Former University Grants Commission chairperson Sukhadeo Thorat said that the family’s story points to broader problems in implementing state education programmes. According to him, central and regional authorities have different support programmes, but their implementation remains weak.
