Beyond Worship: Raising Girls to Recognize the Durga Within

This photograph is from the very early days of Moitrisanjog Gurukul, and it remains one of my personal favourites. Not simply because of the innocence on this little girl's face, but because I see in this image the very philosophy that inspired us to establish Gurukul.

Moitrisanjog Gurukul is an educational initiative led and managed by transgender people. From the beginning, we have placed particular importance on girls' education. Our own lived experiences have taught us that discrimination may take different forms, and our social identities and circumstances may differ, but there are deep connections in our experiences of exclusion, humiliation, and oppression.

The struggles of a transgender person and those of a young girl growing up in a patriarchal society are not the same. Yet, in both their lives, society often tries to decide in advance who they can become, how far they can go, and where the boundaries of their dreams should lie.

In this photograph, the little girl holds a drawing of Goddess Durga's eyes. To me, those eyes represent something far beyond a religious or artistic image. They reflect the courage to see the world through one's own perspective and the strength to stand against injustice.

For us, Durga is not merely a symbol of worship, but also a symbol of resistance. And there is a profound contradiction in a society that worships a goddess as the embodiment of strength while countless girls, women, and transgender people continue to struggle every day for their dignity, freedom, and right to exist on their own terms.

This is where the dream of Moitrisanjog Gurukul truly begins.

We never wanted to create just another space where children would learn to read and write. We wanted to build an environment where they could discover their identities, recognise their potential, and imagine their futures without fear.

We do not want our girls to grow up merely learning how to draw Goddess Durga. We want them to recognise the strength of Durga within themselves.

For me, this photograph is more than a memory from Gurukul's early days. It is a reflection of what we believe in, why we began this journey, and the kind of future we hope to create.