Apne Aap had much to celebrate in June as six girls from red light areas in Bihar, India, passed their 10th grade national secondary school exams with flying colors! These girls come from the Nat Community, which has practiced inter-generational prostitution for generations.

Each girl was the first in her family to receive an education. Two of them even ranked in the first division of test scores. Apne Aap founder, Ruchira Gupta, described it as “a huge victory for Apne Aap and the mothers of these girls who faced off traffickers against all odds” to get their daughters into school.

Many girls in this position never have an opportunity to realize their potential, as cycles of exploitation of the Nat Community are difficult to break.

The girls’ education was possible because of Apne Aap’s efforts to get a special, fifty-percent quota in KGBV, a hostel for children living in red light areas, run by Apne Aap and the government. This happened because the women of the community asked for assistance getting their girls into a safe space where they could access their basic rights to education, and have the chance to lead normal lives, safe from the potential of being sold for sex.

This comes after a long, sustained struggle Apne Aap has faced in challenging the tradition and custom of inter-generational prostitution in this community. Girls raised in the Nat Community are prostituted, and boys are taught to become pimps. Pulling girls away from prostitution means closing down the only livelihood many of these families know. As a result, families resisted sending the girls to the hostel, and sadly, some of them were removed before they could complete their education.

In the face of such odds, these young women’s commitment to their education and success in these difficult national exams is a tremendous achievement. We are so proud of them, and excited for all they will accomplish in the future.