Supporting Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls School | Citta Education Foundation India

As per the 2011 Census of India, Rajasthan has the lowest rate of female literacy at 51.2% against a national average of 64.63%. In Jaisalmer district, this rate falls to just less than 40% - the second lowest in Rajasthan. In other words, less than half of the female population is capable of basic reading and writing. At the same time, Rajasthan has the second highest rate of child labour in the country, 3.9%, which rises to 5.7% in Jaisalmer.

The district of Jaisalmer is located in the desert region of Rajasthan, where resources such as water and agricultural land are more scarce and traditional gender roles in society are more prominent and persistent than elsewhere in the state. The lives of its women are especially affected by these historic gender roles. This is refleced in the fact that the female literacy rate in rural Jaisalmer is as low as an astounding 35.54% compared to the male literacy of 66.17%.

These staggering statistics point to a reality of little to no opportunity for women to access their right to the independence of livelihood, social security, gender parity, or education.

On September 10, 2021, the Government of Rajasthan allowed schools to reopen after the long period of closure due to Covid-19. We are also ready to finally open our school to the first batch of girls and to see those smiling faces experience a life-changing journey through education. Nevertheless, the long pandemic has stretched us thin, and we are now struggling to financially sustain the project as we open our doors. 

At this critical stage, the opening and running of the Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls School can only be successful, if we receive your support.

We're asking you to kindly support us in our vision to provide access to quality education and confidence to every girl in the region, and eventually shift the role of girls and women in a society that is one of the most challenging for girls and women in our country.

Your contribution will make a huge difference for us: girls will be able to have books, uniforms, and a clean space where they can learn, share stories, and play. Most importantly, thanks to your support we will be able to solve one of the biggest issues that currently keeps the attendance rate in this district so low, transportation. With your support we will be able to acquire a bus that can collect the girls from their homes and bring them safely to the school.

CITTA Education Foundation India is aiming to create a better gender parity for the women of these communities and support them to become harbingers of social and economic development, leading to a more equitable distribution of social power and agency for the female population.

In rural Jaisalmer, CITTA Education Foundation India has created the GYAAN Center (cittaindia.org). This unprecedented venture targets one of the most challenging rural areas in India for women to thrive. At the intersection of three villages lying at the edge of the desert, the GYAAN Center is an award-winning piece of architecture designed pro bono by New York Architect Diana Kellogg; made in golden sandstone that celebrates traditional local masonry craftsmanship. The girls will come to school wearing uniforms made from local Ajrak block-printing techniques. These uniforms were a contribution from the renowned Indian Fashion Designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee. 

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The Center takes a holistic approach to womens empowerment by incorporating a girls school, a women’s economic development center, and a library/textile museum and performance space. It strives to be a model of excellence, confronting issues faced by women in numerous aspects of society, offering avenues of growth and development to women of all ages and backgrounds. It will also provide a global platform encouraging dialogue about issues faced by women throughout India and the world.

The ‘Theory of Change’ is focused on quality education and helps to redefine the social, economic, and cultural institutions of the region. We strive to support gender inclusivity and encouraging norms that create a brighter future and better opportunities for women.

• Educating and empowering girls, many of those being first-generation learners from underprivileged families. 
• Providing skills and means for women to bring financial stability to their families. 
• Encouraging and reconnecting female participation in local arts and music.
• Bringing global dialogue to the issues faced by women through holding annual conferences at the GYAAN Center.
• Providing adult female literacy and financial literacy classes
• Redefining the role of women in the region by increasing their agency 
• Lowering the high female infanticide rate that still plagues the region