Young girls at the Senior Secondary School in Madhya Pradesh’s Raruarai village in Dhar district were hesitant to go to school. Harassed daily by bystanders outside school, girls found the journey to school a daunting experience, impacting their education. Sixteen-year-old student Manisha Chauhan recalls, “I live in the girls' hostel next door, and didn’t feel safe even walking the 50 meters from the hostel to the school. There were vendors everywhere, buses stopped haphazardly, and always a crowd of men who made us all walking together feel uncomfortable.”
Then, over the last six months, the landscape of the area outside this school completely changed. The road outside became wider, pedestrian walkways were constructed, zebra crossings and speed control strips were built, and most importantly a CCTV camera was installed. A bus shelter outside the school gate helped to regulate traffic better, dissipating bystanders, and providing respite from the extreme weather for the students.