girl icons

Twenty-one-year-old Rajkumari Sagar is kind of a big deal in her hometown – a village in India’s north called Faridpur. While finishing high school and pursuing a graduate degree, she managed to convince the parents of 16 girls in her community to let their daughters stay in school. She even raised money to cover their fees. Now, neighbours who criticised her drive and outspokenness come to her for help reading letters and filling out forms. She always helps, but only in exchange for a promise that they’ll allow their daughters to get an education.

These are rare feats for a girl from Faridpur, where gender discrimination is so entrenched that a woman can’t even sit at the same physical level as a man. When men sit in chairs,