Changes for Girls and Women in India
1 in India, most people live in rural areas. The rest live in modern cities. In the cities, parents want their daughters and sons to
children need education to get good jobs someday.
But in many small villages, parents think school is for boys. Girls should learn to cook and keep house. Daughters should m
children. The parents choose the men their daughters will marry
3 The lives of many Indian girls are preplanned. They cannot dream of getting jobs. They cannot take care of themselves. Th
husbands
Now, people are trying to help girls in these villages. They set up schools for girls. They try to get parents to rethink their p
5 Khushboo Rawat's story shows how hard it can be to change parents' minds. Her mother died when Khushboo was youn
for the family. She had to care for her brothers and sisters. Her father expected her to marry at age 14. Khushboo wanted to s
angry. He threw her out of the house. But she was lucky. She lived with her grandmother and finished high school. Now she g
6 Nirma Chaudhary also wanted a job. She married at 17 and soon had a son. But her husband and parents wanted her to
in their village needed firefighters. Nirma trained for six months. Then she went to work at the fire station. Some people in the
They think a wife and mother should stay at home.
7
Khushboo's and Nirma's stories show how things are changing. New ideas are replacing old ones in India's villages. Gi
1. What is a central idea of the passage?
O Most of the people in India live in small villages.
In the cities of India, parents want their children to go to school.
O Some girls in India marry young and depend on their husbands.
O Girls in India's villages are starting to go to school and get jobs.