Tens of thousands of young women and girls work in Indian spinning mills, often under difficult conditions: they live in undignified accommodations, there is forced overtime, low wages, disease and sexual harassment.

At 14, Kanishka worried about the poverty in her home, her parents' arguments, and her father's alcoholism, which often led to him lashing out in anger. And she asked herself a question: How would the dowry the family needed for her wedding be paid?

To earn money, Kanishka was taken out of school and sent to a textile factory. She stood at the machines for up to twelve hours a day. It was hot, loud, and dangerous. In the evenings, she returned to tiny accommodation, far from her family, crammed together with twenty other girls. "My hands and legs hurt, I just wanted to sleep," she recalls.

That Kanishka is back in school today is the result of the persistent work of Terre des Hommespartner organization CSED (Centre for Social Education and Development) and the support of Terre des Hommes and the BMZ (Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development). Social workers spoke with Kanishka's parents and explained to them that education is the only way to escape poverty and that a daughter who is allowed to learn has a chance at a better future. It took time. But eventually, the mother took the advice—and she convinced the father. Social workers from CSED negotiated with the local school and provided Kanishka with a school uniform, a school bag, books, and stationery. She entered the 10th grade.

Kanishka now wants to wait until she has completed her education and is earning her own money before getting married. Her story shows that much can be achieved through education in the villages, training opportunities, conversations with parents, and support for families.