DNA 

• The social worker’s contribution to lives of 300 poor Hindus has been her high point

Ahmedabad, Jan 3: This year's Shri Mahadev Desai Samajseva Puraskar (SMDSP) has been won by Ayesha Patel for her significant contribution in the field of women and child development in Mehsana.

The award was given to 63-year-old Muslim woman on Tuesday at Gujarat Vidyapith campus by the chancellor of the Vidyapith Narayan Desai. The award, which comprises Rs51,000 cash, is given to alumni of the Vidyapith for social service.

Ayesha worked in slum areas of Mehsana and kindled a ray of hope in the  lives of about 300 distressed women, most of whom were Hindus.

“Religion was never a constraint," says Ayesha. "Initially people hesitated when I approached them with new ideas but slowly they realised that I was one of them and then they accepted me,” she says. When she started her development work for Muslim community, she encountered another problem. Her routine of wearing a 'khadi' saree instead of a veil created an identity crisis for Ayesha among Muslims. But nothing could stop Ayesha, a teacher who believes that learning is a lifelong process.

“There were only five Muslim girls in my school which had total 1,500 students,” said Ayesha.  This made her motivate Muslim parents to send their daughters to schools. She formed a 'Setu Trust' and started giving awards to bright Muslim students to encourage people to send their children to schools.

Later, in association with Diler Foundation of Pune, Ayesha started 'Inami Jalsa' programme to increase the number of Muslim girl students in schools.

Honouring Ayesha with the SMDSP, Narayan Desai said, “There are three dimensions to assess the society's growth. And those are society's attitude towards minorities, opportunities and development of women and the reach of the most marginalised person of the society.”