Today is the 186th birth anniversary of Savitribai Jyotirao Phule, considered to be one of India’s renowned social reformers and educationists. Phule, who was born in 1831, started the first women’s school in the country in 1848 along with her husband in Pune, Maharashtra. It was established to provide greater impetus to girl child education and empowerment among the female sex. It also needs to be mentioned that Phule was a pioneer in Marathi poetry.
Phule is remembered for her work against caste and gender injustice and has toiled relentlessly against the then orthodox practices of the society. Phule, who is said to have been married at the age of nine to Jyotirao, was taught to read and write by her husband. By opening a school for girls from different castes, Savitribai and her husband were challenging practices of a largely patriarchal country. In the process, more schools were set up in the region with Savitribai serving as a teacher and principal for many of them.

 

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