Teacher Hậu Thị Sải. — Photo danviet.vn

CAO BẰNG — For generations of students in Cao Bằng Province, Hậu Thị Sải is more than just a teacher. She is a saviour, a mentor, akin to a godmother.

The ethnic Mông woman, who once worked as the principal of the Thông Nông District Boarding School for Ethnic Minority Students, has dedicated her life to fighting against child marriage, rescuing students from becoming brides and grooms as young as eight years old and championing the right to education.

Born in Hòa An District, Cao Bằng Province, Sải was the daughter of a revolutionary cadre who worked for the provincial Department of Finance after 1954. Her father passed away early, leaving her mother to single-handedly raise her and her two younger siblings, ensuring they received a full education.

In 1978, Sải earned a coveted spot to study pedagogy in Thái Nguyên Province.

After graduating, she was determined to return to her homeland, where she later became a fearless advocate against deeply ingrained customs that saw young girls married off before they could finish school.

One of the most remarkable stories of Sải's career was that of Triệu Thị Hoa, a girl she saved from becoming a child bride.

Hoa, now head of the Internal Affairs Division of Hà Quảng District, was once a frightened 12-year-old whose parents forced her to drop out of school to be married.

Determined to intervene, Sải and Hoa’s homeroom teacher hid the girl in a banana grove and later in the school library. When her enraged parents stormed the classroom, demanding their 'tiny bride', Hoa crouched beneath the desk at her teacher’s feet, while Sải carried on with the lesson as if everything were perfectly normal.

At night, the girl had to flee and seek refuge in the home of a kind-hearted official, who, ironically, later became her father-in-law.

"I was in the middle of my studies when my parents suddenly showed up to take me home for marriage. I was in panic. A girl in ninth grade helped me slip out through the side door of the classroom and hide in the village. I was so terrified that I cried until my vision blurred, unable to see the path ahead," Hoa told the online newspaper danviet.vn.

Sải’s interventions were not always welcomed. Some fellow teachers questioned her actions: "It’s their child. They have called her back for the wedding. What right do we have to interfere?"

But Sải was unwavering.

"The Law on Marriage and Family exists for a reason. A 12-year-old fifth grader getting married - does that follow the law? If we stay silent, we are to blame."

She alerted the local authorities, the Department of Education and the police, ensuring that Hoa remained in school.

Eventually, Hoa’s parents relented after a fortune-teller declared that allowing her to study would bring prosperity, whereas marriage would spell misfortune.

Thanks to Sải's persistence, Hoa not only escaped marriage, but also thrived in her education.

She graduated from Việt Bắc High School for Ethnic Minority Students, went on to Thái Nguyên University of Education and built a distinguished career.

Saving the grooms too

Sải’s mission to end child marriage wasn’t limited to saving young brides. She also intervened to protect underage grooms.

Trịnh Văn Thim (centre) receives his Master's Degree at the University of New England, Australia. Photo courtesy of Trịnh Văn Thim

Trịnh Văn Thim, a Dao ethnic student, was in ninth grade when he attended a Mông festival and, following local custom, 'kidnapped' a girl for marriage.

However, his family had already arranged his marriage when he was in eighth grade, selecting a bride he had never met. Under tradition, he would only see his wife for the first time on their wedding day.

“At that age, I naïvely accepted my parents’ wishes,” Thim recalled. “But after teacher Sải and my homeroom teacher explained things to me, I was determined to stay in school.”

Breaking free, however, was no easy task. His family had already paid a dowry in silver to the bride’s family, and calling off the wedding would bring deep shame. Under immense pressure, Thim ran away from home for two months, searching for a way out.

It was then that Sải confronted him with a life-changing question: “Do you want to follow in the footsteps of those who escaped child marriage and built successful futures, or do you want to struggle like your parents and neighbours, always short of food and clothing?”

With her encouragement, Thim found the courage to stand up to his family and reject the marriage.

Sải also worked behind the scenes to shield him from outside pressure, ensuring he could continue his education.

Eventually, Thim did marry the girl his family had chosen, but only after he had completed his studies and secured his future on his own terms.

A brilliant student, Thim later earned a master’s degree in Australia and now works at the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Cao Bằng Province, making significant contributions to his homeland.

Reflecting on his past, Thim said: "Without teacher Sải, many of us in the Thông Nông District wouldn’t have had an education and child marriage would have been even more rampant."

Determined to create lasting change, Sải called other teachers to combat child marriage.

In 2010, she brought teacher Hưng, now head of Hà Quảng’s Education Department, to witness the practice firsthand.

Together, they trekked to Yên Sơn Commune and successfully prevented the marriage of a sixth-grade girl.

That experience transformed Hưng into a lifelong advocate for protecting children’s education, ensuring that Sải’s mission would continue for generations.

Hậu Thị Sải's story is one of courage, intellect and an unyielding passion for education.

She did not merely teach lessons from a textbook. She changed lives, dismantling outdated customs and ensuring that highland children had a future beyond early marriage.

Though she has since retired, her legacy remains alive in the students she rescued, in the teachers she trained, and in the communities she transformed.

To the generations she saved, she will always be their 'fairy godmother', the woman who refused to stay silent. — VNS