Breaking Tradition, Building a Future: Ashiyana's Story

A Girl at the Edge of the Border, and the Edge of Opportunity : In Khutauna village, tucked right against the India border in Ward No. 6 of Malangwa Municipality, 15-year-old Ashiyana Khatun grew up in a home full of people but short on resources. Thirteen family members shared one household — her four sisters, a brother, grandmother, uncle, aunt, and her cousins — all depending on incomes stretched thin across borders, as her father and uncle had gone abroad for work. As the eldest daughter of Md. Muskat Ansari and Najo Khatun, Ashiyana's days were shaped by responsibility rather than opportunity. She helped her mother and aunt manage the household and care for her younger siblings, often going without a second meal as the family's finances stretched to cover so many mouths. And beyond the walls of her home stood an even older barrier: a long-standing tradition within her community that discouraged sending daughters to school at all. For a girl like Ashiyana, the path to a classroom seemed nearly impossible to find. Opening a Door Through ENGAGE : That path began to open with the arrival of the ENGAGE Project — Empowering a New Generation of Adolescent Girls through Education — implemented by Prerana Organization in Malangwa Municipality, with funding from UK Aid and technical support from VSO Nepal and Humanity & Inclusion (HI). The project began with a baseline survey to identify the most marginalized children in the area — including children with disabilities — between the ages of 10 and 19. From there, it launched nine-month bridge classes, designed to bring out-of-school children back into formal education if they were between 10 and 14, or into vocational training toward self-reliance if they were 15 to 19 and no longer interested in formal schooling. With encouragement from a community volunteer, Ashiyana enrolled in the bridge class and began attending regularly. Her progress was swift — she quickly grasped what she was taught and scored well in her bridge class examinations. Recognizing that lasting change also depends on parents, the project ran parallel awareness sessions with families on gender-based violence, child marriage, and the value of education — planting seeds that would soon grow at home. From the Bridge Class to the Classroom : Encouraged by her progress, Ashiyana's parents made a decision that broke with tradition: they enrolled her in Class 5 at Shree Janata Adharbhut School, Malangwa-6, Khutauna. From there, she never looked back. Supported by regular remedial classes and Distance/Take-home Learning (DTL) sessions coordinated by her Big Sister mentor, Ashiyana kept building on her early momentum. Even when the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the academic calendar and cancelled formal annual exams, her dedication showed through: she ranked 2nd out of 50 students based on her class and half-yearly evaluations. The following year, sitting for her final exams once again, she secured 2nd rank a second time. Today, Ashiyana has advanced to Class 7 — and she's determined to reach the top of her class in the years ahead. Ripple Effect Across the Community : Ashiyana's transformation hasn't gone unnoticed. Neighbors who once may have accepted the old traditions now point to her progress as an example, hoping their own sons and daughters can follow a similar path. For her parents, the change has been just as profound. Proud of how far their daughter has come, they've committed to supporting her education for as long as she wants to continue — and, in a powerful sign of changed hearts, they have since enrolled their four younger daughters in school as well. In their own words, the family extended their gratitude to the organization for standing beside them and helping them see their daughter's true potential.