She is all of 17, but she has already foiled six child marriages.

Baisakhi Barui has fought with her family and neighbours. She has been ridiculed in public and threatened with acid attacks. But the Class X student from Gangasagar island hasn’t backed down.

Baisakhi has stopped girls from eloping with suspicious “new friends”, reported underage marriages to Childline and the local panchayat in her village , and sometimes accompanied police on rescue missions.

Her courage was honoured on Saturday at IIHM presents The Telegraph School Awards for Excellence 2025, 30th edition, in association with The Bhawanipur Education Society College, Adamas University, and Exide.

At the awards ceremony, the spotlight was on women and girls who lead from the front, often carrying the weight of families, expectations, resistance, and yet choosing to rise.

Some were students, some mothers, some teachers, and some social workers. They’ve juggled multiple roles — sometimes effortlessly, often out of hardship, and at times, out of sheer selflessness. But the journey has been bumpy, and it still is.

Many in the packed auditorium were moved to tears on hearing how Baisakhi had intervened in March 2024 to stop her cousin from being forced into marriage. The cousin’s parents had sought to legitimise the relationship. Baisakhi reported the matter to Gangasagar Coastal police station and accompanied the police to the boy’s house. Her cousin was rescued.

But the resistance didn’t end there.

“There are boyfriends or prospective grooms who have threatened me with acid attacks. It’s scary sometimes, but fear isn’t strong enough to stop me,” Baisakhi told Metro.

Baisakhi Barui receives the Sonika Chauhan Award for Courage from the late model’s friend Lyzandra Martin Redden at The Telegraph School Awards for Excellence 2025 on Saturday

She received the Sonika Chauhan Award for Courage, presented by the late model’s friend Lyzandra Martin Redden.

Baisakhi, who dreams of becoming a social worker, knows her fight is far from over. “There’s so much still to be done to change the mindset of society. Only if we protect young girls today can we hope for a brighter tomorrow,” she said, with a maturity far beyond her years.

Her daily efforts include going door-to-door to convince mothers to send their daughters to school and spreading awareness against child marriage among peers.

While Baisakhi lends her voice to others, 17-year-old Priyanka Pramanik is fighting her own battle in Tollygunge — one that centres around herself.

A Class XI student, Priyanka goes to school to avoid being married off. She used to work at a roadside chowmein stall, trapped in the cycle of poverty and limited choices. But her aspirations helped her break through.

“She barely knew how to hold a pencil a few years ago, but she cleared her Madhyamik exams in just 11 months of preparation,” said Mitrabinda Ghosh, founder of Tollygunge Ramdhanu Social Welfare Society, the organisation that supported Priyanka.

Priyanka Pramanik receives the BSS Scholarship from Samit Ray, founder and chancellor, Adamas University, on Saturday

Priyanka was awarded the BSS Scholarship, presented by Samit Ray, founder and chancellor of Adamas University.

About 70km away, in Basirhat, Manju Bibi is raising three daughters alone after her husband deserted the family nine years ago — taking her jewellery and leaving her with nothing but grit.

She began rolling bidis to earn ₹100-150 a day. “There are family members and neighbours who say that I should get my daughters married off. But that is not what I want, and I won’t let that happen,” Manju said.

Her daughters — Nargis (Class XII), Bilkis (Class IX), and Sapiya (Class III) — are still in school.

Another mother, Asmanara Khatun, was left on the verge of begging after her husband’s death in a road accident in 2023. Against ridicule and taunts, she took up “a man’s job”. She started buying fish from the wholesale market in Basirhat, North 24-Parganas, and cycling to four to five villages to sell them.

“Some days the sales are good; on others, I suffer a loss. Still, I am an independent woman,” she said.

Manju and Asmanara both received the Abhirup Bhadra ‘Thank You Baba Ma Award’, and their children received scholarships from Susmita Bhadra, a mother who has become a symbol of commitment to the awards.

The school awards turned 30 this year — and Susmita has been there for 24 of those editions. In 2001, Susmita’s son Abhirup, a student of South Point, told her on his deathbed: “Barry Sir will not start the award ceremony if I can’t make it to the awards.” She has attended every edition since.

The stage also recognised schools that work tirelessly for change.

One such was 30 No. Andiran Primary School in Beldanga, Murshidabad — a school where students don’t just study, they act. Both boys and girls from the school make door-to-door visits in their community to raise awareness against child marriage.

The school received the Carring Minds International Award for a School that
Cares, presented by Minu Budhia.