In Tamil Nadu Village, One Woman Changes Lives with Healthcare, Education
In Tamil Nadu Village, One Woman Changes Lives with Healthcare, Education
- There were few roads between the 40 villages governed by the panchayat. There was no health center. There weren't enough schools – so girls dropped out and married before eighteen.
That began to change in 2011 when a soft-spoken, mathematics graduate and former hospital administrator was elected panchayat president in a seat that was not then reserved for women. In the five years since, Tenmozhi (she uses one name) has had a Rs. 30 crore bridge built to link seven remote villages, a public health center sanctioned, battled early marriage and now hopes to build a secondary school so families allow girls to study instead of getting them married.
- There were few roads between the 40 villages governed by the panchayat. There was no health center. There weren't enough schools – so girls dropped out and married before eighteen.
That began to change in 2011 when a soft-spoken, mathematics graduate and former hospital administrator was elected panchayat president in a seat that was not then reserved for women. In the five years since, Tenmozhi (she uses one name) has had a Rs. 30 crore bridge built to link seven remote villages, a public health center sanctioned, battled early marriage and now hopes to build a secondary school so families allow girls to study instead of getting them married.