Insulted with slur 'anpadh', Pune waste pickers clean SSC, redraw their destiny

Priyanka Kamble and Komal Gaikwad, derided by the slur "anpadh" (uneducated), on Tuesday recharted not only their educational chronology, but also their own image when they cleared the SSC exam.

The two women Pune waste pickers were endlessly insulted by in-laws as uneducated. "All the insulting language was echoing within my ears. I wished to reply to them," said Kamble, aged 27 years, a part of SWaCH cooperative, who was removed from school in Std III. She moved to her in-laws' place in Solapur after marriage. "They used to call me 'anpadh' and insult me. There would always be fights. I left their house and moved to Pune for work and lead a respectable life."

She also began learning at Ramabai Ranade School in 2022. She would go collect garbage in the morning, prepare lunch for her son, and arrive at school by 2 pm. "Teachers motivated me even though I would arrive late because of work," she told.

She scored 48% and her husband called to congratulate her. "He asked me to share sweets. People from where I am residing congratulated me," said Kamble. She now hopes to become an anganwadi sevika.

Komal Gaikwad, 26, a resident of Dandekar Pul Vasti and a single mother, had never been to a classroom. "I was married at 20 and was constantly mocked by my in-laws for being uneducated," she added. When her husband passed away during the Covid pandemic, she was pregnant with her second child and had to work.

"My in-laws informed me that since I was not literate, I could never earn a living. But I did not want my children to have a bleak future. I had to lead by example," she explained.

She studied at a night school and obtained 58% in SSC exam. "My Std V daughter is beaming with pride when I received my results. I want to pursue higher studies and attend junior college. My teachers will help me, and I'll go ahead," Gaikwad said.