Prachi Thakur, a PhD graduate from IIT Roorkee, shares a powerful story of how her father’s belief in her dreams transformed her life.
Growing up in a small town in Bihar, I saw girls my age being married off soon after Class 10. It was a norm for families to save for dowry. But my dreams were different — and so were my father’s priorities. Instead of setting aside money for my marriage, he chose to invest in my education.
Life wasn’t easy. We lived in a modest kaccha house, and my father earned a living repairing gas stoves. Despite financial struggles, he never let my education suffer. He stood firm, ensuring I had opportunities he never did.
While my immediate family supported me, society often didn’t. Relatives constantly questioned my father’s decisions, urging him to stop “wasting money” on my studies and instead get me married. They tried to confine me to traditional roles, but my father became my shield — protecting me from pressure, criticism, and limiting expectations.
As a child, I didn’t always understand his sacrifices. I remember feeling embarrassed, once writing in school that my father was a businessman and my mother a tailor — afraid of being judged because he ran a small paan stall. I even questioned why he couldn’t be like other parents with office jobs and polished appearances.
His answer was always simple: “Money isn’t everything in life.”
Back then, I didn’t fully grasp its meaning. Today, I live it.
There was a time I believed I had less than others. Now I realise I had something far greater — a father who believed fiercely in my dreams and nurtured them with unwavering dedication. He became my strength, my confidence, and my biggest supporter.
Today, as a PhD graduate from IIT Roorkee, a diversity strategist, and a TEDx speaker, I owe my journey to him. He encouraged me to speak, to lead, and to step onto stages when many girls were taught to stay silent.
He didn’t just support my dreams — he helped me build them.
They say it takes a village to raise a child. I may not know about a village, but I know this: it takes a strong, courageous family to raise a dreamer.
A salute to all fathers who challenge outdated traditions, stand against societal pressure, and protect their daughters’ dreams from being extinguished.
