ISLAMABAD: A 47-year-old Indian mother ran barefoot in a three-kilometer community race to win prize money to support her daughter’s education, with her extraordinary effort exposing the financial pressures and shortcomings facing average Indian families navigating India’s education system.
According to a BBC News report, Ramabai Ranveer, a widow from Maharashtra -- India’s second most populous state -- had no running training and no proper running shoes when she entered the race in August.
Her goal was not sporting glory. She wanted to win the 3,000-rupee prize so she could buy books and study materials for her daughters.
When her slippers repeatedly slipped off, Ramabai removed them, gathered her sari and continued running barefoot. She eventually finished first in the women’s 30-60 age category.
“I couldn’t send her money to buy books ... so I decided I had to run and win the race,” Ramabai told BBC News Marathi.
The widow has been the sole breadwinner for her family since her husband died in 2012. She has worked in other people’s fields, picking soybeans and chickpeas, collected and processed turmeric for sale, and now works as a cook at a coaching center.
Her younger daughter, Arati, was struggling to afford books, while her elder daughter, Pooja, is preparing for police recruitment. The family’s limited income has made even basic educational expenses difficult to manage.
Ramabai herself left school at the age of 13. She says she wants her daughters to have the opportunities she never had.
“I believe that as long as I am alive, I should do everything I can to give my daughters a good education,” she said.
Her barefoot run quickly spread across Indian social media and newspapers, turning her personal struggle into a wider discussion about the difficulties faced by families trying to secure education and stable careers for their children.
The BBC report noted that millions of young Indians spend years preparing for highly competitive government recruitment examinations, frequently relying on private coaching, books and other study materials.
The system has also faced repeated scrutiny over allegations of question-paper leaks and other examination irregularities, fuelling frustration among students and young people over education, employment and the uncertain prospects of securing government jobs.
Sukhadeo Thorat, a former chairman of India’s University Grants Commission, told the BBC that Ramabai’s struggle pointed to weaknesses in the implementation of government education schemes.
“If a woman is compelled to struggle so hard for her daughters’ education, it shows that government education schemes are not reaching people adequately,” he said.
Ramabai’s story eventually attracted official attention. Earlier this month, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant directed local officials to provide her with financial assistance of 50,000 rupees.
But the assistance came only after her barefoot race brought her plight into the spotlight.
For Ramabai, the issue remains deeply personal. She does not want her daughters to experience the hardships that shaped her own life.
“I don’t want them to go through the hardships I have faced,” she said. “Whatever I have suffered, I don’t want my daughters to suffer the same.”
Her barefoot victory was therefore more than a race win. It was a striking reminder of the lengths a mother was forced to go to in pursuit of something as basic as a better education for her children.