Lonely and Marginalized Studying for a Doctorate Degree
The obstacles and challenges faced during that time
Many years ago I was studying for my PhD degree. The usual pattern is attending some courses and writing a thesis project.
The important thing is to select the right discipline and then choose a subject with a fitting title. Find an important research topic, state a problem, and then discuss your research methodology, get data, analyze it, and offer solutions that you think would be befitting.
It all seems so easy. Yet, it is not so simple. There is many a slip between the cup and the lip.
For me, it was easy to apply for enrollment to a PhD degree but I was faced with many challenges that proved an obstacle at every point.
I was the only woman amongst many men at that time in the department pursuing their Ph.D. One would think it was a privilege but here I was lonely and marginalized.
Anybody I would talk to would think I belonged to him and would begin shielding me from others and taking offense if I spoke to others.
I certainly was no one’s possession so I had to trudge alone if I did not listen to them.
My first child was only 3 months old when I received my enrollment acceptance. Looking after him and working for a degree was not easy.
Then there were no computers. We had the good old typewriter. A friend suggested to me that I should buy an electric typewriter to make my written words faster than they would be with a normal typewriter.
So I did but a typewriter is a typewriter and not a computer like we have today. I had to go personally to the libraries to dig out data and manually calculate.
My friends and my family ridiculed me that I was doing my doctorate when I did not need to do so.
Then a big computer was installed in the university. A lone one, where we had to insert a card and feed in data on it. This computer was for all the research scholars. We had to take it on rent for the day.
Believe me, at the end of the day you would find that the data was all wrong and you would have to do it manually again or take on rent whenever it was possible because of a huge demand from the scholars.
The men sneered at me and said Oh a female candidate why does she need a computer. She has her house and child and is a family person.
My work was in the capital market. There were no records available. Most of the things were handwritten or typewritten and you had to physically go to every corporate house, interview people, get permission, and get a questionnaire filled out. Then analyze them, and calculate again manually.
Even officers found it strange that a woman came alone armed with a typewritten questionnaire and was getting it filled out. Such was the society in those days.
Very few women worked in India in those days and those who did were scoffed at.
They made their own judgment that these women did not have good character because they moved out of the house and worked.
In the meanwhile, I had another kid and now there were two kids I had to take care of. Things became even more difficult and I had to fight against many odds.
PhD takes a long time but before I started writing my thesis I had a third kid.
This was a further challenge. My guide was not helpful. He said he needed full commitment and long hours of sitting with him for me to complete each chapter.
I was distraught but I was determined to make it. I fought against the world and made it happen. People were stunned when I submitted my PhD in 4 years when others were loitering around.
Two stories I found interesting:
This story is in response to the prompt. Write how determination helped you overcome a certain event, hardship, or difficulty.
©Dr. Preeti Singh, 2024.