THE BLOSSOM BUS

Mewat, Haryana, is largely populated by the Muslim Meo tribe whose misfortunes clash sharply with more affluent surrounding areas. With a female literacy rate of only 2%, Mewat ranks among the most regressive districts in terms of girls’ education in all of India. The scarcity of secondary schools combined with conservative local attitudes toward female mobility has terrible consequences for an adolescent girl in Mewat: if there is no school in her village, she is forced to drop out.  The immediate resource gap occurs in the form of transportation as few villages have secondary schools. Because allowing a girl to travel alone is widely believed to be imprudent, female education typically ends at the primary level. This low ceiling feeds into a downward spiral for the female population by diminishing the return on a girl’s schooling, increasing the likelihood of her ending up working in the fields or at home. 

The Blossom Bus bridges the chasm between parents’ legitimate concerns for their daughters’ safety and a girl’s right to education. By providing pioneering families with a bus and a parent chaperone to safely deliver their daughters to secondary school, the program helps delay the traditional Meo institution of childhood marriage and early childbearing. Giving these girls the chance to develop a sense of autonomy before motherhood increases their capacity for social participation and leadership. As such, the Blossom Bus acts as a powerful corollary to LEARN, our broader education and legal advocacy program in the area. Until proper secondary schools become available in all villages, the Blossom Bus aims to rescue girls at this transitional stage, leading the way in establishing female education as a norm rather than an anomaly. 



Partner: White Lotus Charitable Trust

Supported by: GlobalGiving Foundation, Angus Lawson Memorial Trust