Taslima - a fourth grader - at Turtuk, a Balti village in Nubra Valley on Indo_Pak Border. Turtuk was located on the ancient Leh-Sinkiang Great Caravan Trade Route which was closed during Indo-Pak Partition. While elsewhere in Ladakh, women have always had a status equal with men, in the orthodox Balti community women have enjoyed little freedom or respect. In recent years Turtuk has become a popular tourist destination in Nubra. This exposure and renewed contact with the outside world have brought about significant changes on the socio-cultural front. Today girls like Taslima constitute the majority in the local high school, and are getting ready to take on the world.
