The School for Bad Girls
MY THOUGHTS
Ask a group of children what they want to study or what they want to be, ‘job-wise’, and you will get everything from influencer to palaeontologist. It is always nice to hear them have the confidence to say what they dream of being.
The School for Bad Girls is a book that takes you back in time when women couldn’t dream of an education. But what happens when a plucky few decide to change their circumstances? They begin to set in motion events that will change the course of history.
The School for Bad Girls is a fictionalised story of the women’s emancipation movement in Bengal in the 19th century. Kadambini Bose is convinced that Calcutta holds better things for her than her hometown of Bhagalpur. She journeys with the intent of getting an education and secretly dreams of becoming a doctor. We also meet Kumud, who is a child bride and was thrown out of her house when her husband died. She is found by Dwarkanath Ganguly and nursed back to health. Unlike Kadambini, Kumud has always believed that life for women and men is different and accepted her circumstances. For the first time, she is taught to dream of how her life could change with an education.
The book chronicles Kadambini’s and Kumud’s journey from when they join school to when they graduate from University. Through letters and diary entries, we learn about the many roadblocks they face as they tirelessly fight for basic rights to learn and progress.
Author Madhurima Vidyarthi, a doctor herself, delivers a well-researched and passionate account of life in 19th-century Bengal, where being an educated, independent-minded woman was unheard of and considered blasphemous. Where girls as young as seven and eight were married to men fifty years older than them and widowed soon after. When women giving birth would rather die than let themselves be examined by a male doctor to uphold the family’s honour.
This book was an eye-opening account of India’s history and an interesting look at the women’s emancipation movement. Definitely must-read for young adults on the brink of pursuing their own dreams. After all, how can we go ahead if we don’t know how far we’ve come?
If you think your child would enjoy this book, you can buy it here →
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