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Overcoming societal expectations, gender stereotypes and traditional conventions for mothers, these students studying at Delhi University (DU) have shown that there are no limits to pursuing higher studies. Meet these young moms on campus as they raise their children while pursuing their educational dreams.
‘My child will be proud of my academic rigor’
Samiksha Saharan, 25, is an M.Com student at Shaheed Bhagat Singh College and mother of five-month-old Sarvagya. “I was married six months, in 2022, when I attempted the exam for admission to this course – and only 400 out of thousands of candidates passed. One of the reasons I do this is because my in-laws have always been very supportive of my academic career. My husband, who is an organic farmer, also inspires me to do more and do better for my son. He tells me to make my life meaningful and be proud of me, my son. With my academic rigor, I’m sure he will! Even my mother-in-law tells me to study and get good marks. All this helps me be a mother on campus,” Saharan tells us, adding that living in a joint family has been beneficial for her. “During the day, I have a support infrastructure in the form of my husband’s parents and grandparents. At night, when my son is with me, there is no question of studies. But during the day, between breastfeeding, is the time I really get on it and study! Every two hours, I feed him, but apart from that I concentrate on my study material!”
‘I want to fulfill my dream of becoming a professor and inspire my son’
Minaxi Kaushik, 32, is a PhD scholar studying literature, and mother to a six-month-old son, Yuvan. Currently, in the last month of her eight-month maternity leave, she tells us: “I enrolled for my PhD in 2021, a year before my marriage, and then had my baby a year and a half later. Although I completed my course before the child was born, I still have to defend my subject and that work is incomplete. However, I will defend my thesis topic in November! Kaushik credits her mother-in-law for being a “pillar of support” and looks to her mother as an “inspiration”, who though uneducated always hoped for her children to pursue higher education. “When my son grows up, I want him to see that I have fulfilled my family responsibilities while pursuing my dream of becoming a professor – and you will!”
‘My son understands my commitments’
Timsy Bhatia, a 36-year-old PhD scholar, joined the Delhi School of Economics in 2018, two years after marriage and the birth of their son, Rudraveer, in 2021. “It’s almost time for my submission,” she says. I had completed most of my work before my son was born. After that, it’s been harder – I’m dragging it out but I plan to submit my final thesis in six months… At first, I was probably ambivalent about having a baby when I had it, but Now I feel lucky that I took the decision. If you really want kids, you balance your aspirations, like I had to take six months of maternity leave. Timsy doesn’t feel any stress about the past. “Yes, I have not completed my PhD, unlike my peers who have completed it in three or four years, but I have no guilt about that. Had I been a housewife, perhaps things would have been different. But Rudraveer understands that his mother has some commitments. He knows that it is a responsibility that I have to fulfill and he also gives me time off. He knows that he should not touch mother’s books, study material and laptop. He knows those limitations and also my work. Being a student mother is difficult, but it is also a blessing for me.
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