Mother of nine daughters misses a son no more

AHMEDABAD: A woman with nine daughters is called a 'panauti' (ill omen) in most rural households of India. Sameja Haroon, using education as her weapon of choice, has turned her daughters into her biggest strength.
Haroon, from Bhujpur village, Mundra, was a conventional housewife who kept boring children in the hope of a son. Shocker came when she became a mute witness to the death of her second daughter."I lost her when she was 8. She starved to death while begging for milk. But I did not even have firewood at home. My husband was hospitalized and we had no money," says the 57-year-old.
This death three decades back jolted Haroon to take charge of her life and overcome poverty. Help came in the form of a microfinance programme for the economic development of marginalized labourers by an NGO Care India. Haroon took a loan of Rs 25,000 with which she leased a mango orchard. "I had a good harvest. A new factory got built in our area and the entrepreneur in me knew more families would arrive along with a purchasing power. I started selling vegetables in a cart for these newcomers," she says. Haroon also joined a self-help group under the same NGO and urged the women to start rolling bread for this factory.
Haroon's priority, however, was the education of her daughters. While the first four daughters studied up to standard 7 in the village primary school, they had to drop out due to poverty. The fifth daughter studied till standard 10 and became a part of the Kutch Livelihood Education Advancement Project (KLEAP), the project which had helped her mother out in the past. Saber, the seventh daughter, is pursuing graduation while working in Vivekananda Research and Training Institute, Mandvi. She also runs a beauty parlor at home to generate more income. "I did a diploma course in computers from ITI Bhuj too," she says.
The eighth daughter is attending college while working as a computer operator with a courier agency and the youngest is studying in standard 11. Today, Haroon has a monthly income of Rs 10,000. "My daughters are fulfilling the responsibilities of a son and I am proud of them. My only regret is not being able to educate my first four daughters beyond school," she says.