New Delhi: We have often heard motivational stories of people belonging to the middle-class or lower-middle-class section of society who have achieved big things later in life. Such stories create a stir and inspire us to push ourselves a little more so that we too can be successful in life. Speaking of women, they have been considered as the ‘weaker vessel’ since time eternal, but with the changing paradigm of society, they too have come at par with men and have created such records that the world kept marvelling at them.
This women’s day let’s hear the story of Dr. Mona Lisa Bal, Chairperson of Kiit International School who has always been passionate about education. Being a devout feminist, she stands for establishing equality across countries. In this light, she has focused on introducing SEN Globe, an initiative of acknowledging specially-abled students and providing them with education in mainstream schools by introducing a separate domain.
Mona Lisa found it very difficult to stand out in a male-dominated society at the beginning of her career. Thus, she tried to implement inclusivity in her
school, KIIT International School by establishing an equal ratio of men and women staff.
Childhood Beliefs And Determination To Be Highly Educated:
Mona Lisa grew up in Kolkata with her two siblings. Cocooned by middle-class values, she thought that her life would be very similar to most middle-class women’s and that as an adult, she would live like most of her friends. Her family would be her priority and her journey would be to give them the best home and values like most women around her.
Her in-laws were very well-known and were a highly respected family in Odisha. Interestingly, the strong thread of idealism, a social conscience intrinsic to the family, was a novelty for Mona Lisa. She realised that wealth alone doesn’t decide social standing and respect. Additionally, being a 21-year-old was an advantage as she was still like a sponge, soaking in a new perspective on life, with a supportive family and a doting husband.
Later, Mona Lisa pursued a master’s degree in Political Science, and then an MBA from KIIT. With two young sons at home, she did her PhD as well afterwards. With time, she realized that most women were not lucky enough to have the backing and support of a family in order to pursue higher studies without any ‘real need’. The world was indeed different back then and Mona Lisa thought that there was a dying need to make a difference and that it could start with her.
Friend’s Struggle Becomes An eye-Opener:
A few years later something happened that changed her entire attitude and way of looking towards life. Her friend Gargi had children, who were of the same age as her boys, and thereby, grew up together. When Gargi’s elder son Zain was 15 years old, he succumbed to an aggressive form of leukaemia. Her younger son, Reehan was eighteen – autistic and amazing at the same time.
Watching Gargi struggle to bring up Reehan opened her eyes and she realized the dire need for an environment of empathy with specialist teachers to guide such special children. And, just like every big thing begins with a small idea, the KiiT SENGlobe initiative was born.
Today, the school has the unique distinction of being a ‘SEN’ (Special Education Need) school, with more than seventy students and a pool of trained teachers to provide them with essential skills and establish them in mainstream society wherever there is scope for transitioning in a respectful, stress-free manner.
This way, a dream came into existence, growing bigger day by day. But, Mona Lisa has not limited her horizon to cater to the privileged children’s quality education only, but to boost it with understanding and respect for local culture and traditions.
Moving To Greater Horizons:
Moving ahead with her plans, a Vedic Memory Lab to expose students to traditional learning and enhance their numeracy skills based on modern mathematics has been another initiative that was set up and was running with conviction and determination.
She also started an outreach program named ‘Inspiron’, which is the humanitarian outreach program of the school. Thus, from providing potable water, access to technology and awareness of health care and hygiene for women and girl children in the nearby villages, she has worked consistently towards delivering and facilitating a better quality of life to those who are less privileged.
Women Empowerment:
Empowering women in all ways possible, Mona Lisa has handed over the charge of the majority (about 80%) of the leadership positions to women in her school, which is the KiiT International School. Additionally, she has also ensured a safe, welcoming and level playing field for all those who work in the school.
Most of the staff in the blue collared jobs, including security guards, are female and they have been trained to speak English so that they do not feel inadequate while dealing with students and parents. By providing them with digital literacy, and English speaking skills, they are able to plan for better choices for themselves and those dependent on them.
Additionally, is also proactively engaged with KISS, a School for 30,000 tribal students and she mentors selected tribal students for achieving civil services.
She also feels that women are experts in multitasking and can manage their personal and professional life with ease and wants to build a nation where Education is given without any biases.
Not just that, but she also believes that it’s high time for women to stop making sacrifices and work towards their success and she highly speaks of this concept so that society is supportive of women.