Sunshine story: Hamlets in Maharashtra will now bear nameplates of girl child

When Aditi Paimode from Angangaon in Yeola Nashik asked her father to put her name on the entrance of their dwelling little did she know that the request would inspire him to launch a womenempowerment campaign in MaharashtraThe sticker makes me feel special says Aditi 8 whose name has been plastered on the door since 2016 In a bid to boost selfconfidence among girls and promote literacy Aditis father Gyaneshwar Paimode a zilla parishad school teacher has been shelling out money to motivate people to paste stickers with the names of daughters on their doorsLets celebrateAccording to Paimode 36 the process of naming is nothing short of a joyous event We reach the house with musical instruments and then sing and dance After presenting flowers to the girl and her parents we request them to paste the name sticker on the door he says The campaign has managed to reach 59 schools across three districts Ahmednagar Aurangabad and Yeola with over 6000 stickers being successfully put upGyaneshwar Paimode with his colleague Gyaneshwar Badgar from Bhingare village who has been assisting him in this campaignTill date Paimode has spent over Rs 35000 from his savings for the campaign Before we launched the campaign there was no culture of nameplates in these villages he saysThe idea came to him after watching his daughters reaction when his brother named his grocery shop Aditis general store He recalls the days when she would simply visit the shop and stare at the nameplate and smile She then requested me to do the same I immediately wrote her name on a cardboard and pasted it on our door But I didnt want to limit it to my household says Paimode who then decided to launch it into a fullfledged campaignMore the merrierAlthough the initiative began with Malkheda Zilla Parishad School where Paimode works the ripples are being felt in neighbouring villages In Bhingare village 90 km from Nashik a modest brick dwelling bears the name of 11yearold Dhanshree Gade and her younger sister Kalyani Interestingly it was their grandmother Gayabai who was the driving force in ensuring the nameplates were up Girls are stronger and show more fortitude during crisisI say it out of experience So we need to upgrade their status she says But Gayabai belongs to a minority Discrimination against girl children was a reality until recently adds Paimode There was a family with four girls When we went to put the nameplate at their residence their mother Sangita Karbharikare broke down because she was accustomed to taunts for not bearing a son It was the first time that somebody was celebrating having daughters Paimode saidPrinted on white paper the stickers are standardised in size and lettering as it is manufactured in bulk at his friends printing shop At Malkheda 12yearold Shraddha Shindes name is embossed on a plywood plate Inspired by the gesture her uncle Ashok Shinde too has put up the nameplate of his 20yearold daughter Akshada Shes married now but chose to carry the nameplate to her inlaws place laughs AshokStruggle for fundsCurrently Paimode provides the stickers for Rs 5 each His dream is to provide steel or wood nameplates but is finding it difficult due to shortage of funds He hopes for government support in extending the campaign to more villages For now he has been participating in education fairs to spread the message The next step is to approach private schools and colleges he saysCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates