The age range at Chawli primary school in Bulandshahr, northern India, has been wider than at other schools since the 92-year-old Salima Khan enrolled. The great-grandmother – who is known as Amma – struggles to walk far these days but for the past two years she has turned up as often as she can to the school in Uttar Pradesh, alongside her great-granddaughter-in-law, Firdaus, 35, and has learned to read and write.
Her enthusiasm for learning has motivated many young girls as well as married women in the area to enrol in school, including two of her daughter-in-laws. As her story has spread across social media, Amma has become a source of inspiration for women across the wider region of Uttar Pradesh, where about 30% of women are illiterate.
