Back to where she belongs

For this 14-year-old, revisiting her school after dropping out two months ago was like a dream come true. Zuberia was one of the happiest girls on Tuesday also because she could take her sister Sabia Begum to school.

This did not happen out of the blue. It’s the result of the effort of M. Kanaka Durga, Secretary, District Legal Services Authority and ChildLine. She responded to Zuberia’s call to Childline on December 8 to complaint about her state and to ask for help to get admitted to the school.

She was forced to leave studies by her father Shaik Ahammad for various reasons. But she did not lose hope and kept in constant touch with the Childline to know the status of her complaint. Sometimes, she even called Childline thrice a day.

Finally, M.S. Chandra, Director, ChildLine approached Justice Kanaka Durga to address the issue. On Tuesday, Justice Kanaka Durga along with Mr. Chandra, Ch. Shankar Reddy, Patancher Circle Inspector and Prameela, Mandal Education Officer, visited Shanti Nagar at Patancheru and counselled Zuberia’s parents to send their daughter to school. They agreed to do so and sent both their daughters to school. Ruksana Begum, a curious onlooker and also the neighbour of Zuberia, is also a dropout from school. After witnessing the counselling session, she expressed her will to rejoin school and Justice Kanaka Durga talked to her parents requesting them to send their daughter to school. Md. Jaffar, Ruksana Begum’s father, took heed of her advice and admitted her to school.

Zuberia, 14, forced to drop out from school by her father, takes the help of Childline and rejoins school