Savitribai Phule Birth Anniversary: Know About The 19th Century Reformer

Today marks the 192nd birth anniversary of India's first woman teacher Savitribai Phule. Born on January 3, 1831, Savitribai Phule was a 19th-century social reformer and poet, who strived to help girls achieve better education.  

Savitribai Phule and her husband Jyotirao Phule are credited with opening India's first girl school at Bhide Wada in Pune in 1848.

Early life

Savitribai Phule was born into a family of farmers in Maharashtra's Naigaon on January 3, 1831. At the age of nine, she married 13-year-old Jyotirao Phule. Her husband was an advocate of female education and made sure that Savitribai Phule attains good quality education. He taught her at home and trained her to become a teacher.

Savitribai Phule went on to become India's first woman teacher and headmistress and opened 18 schools for girls with her husband. The reformer was also one of the first feminists of modern India who, with her husband, played an instrumental role in the struggle for women's rights in India during the British Raj.

Work

Savitribai Phule relentlessly worked to eradicate social evils and led campaigns against child marriage and the Sati tradition among other practices. She stood up against caste-based discrimination and set up a care program for widows. She also denounced the practice of widows shaving their heads.

Savitribai Phule opened a care centre for pregnant rape victims called “Balhatya Pratibandhak Griha” where she helped them deliver their children. 

Besides women's rights, Savitribai Phule fought for peasants, backward castes, and Dalits. Through her poetry, she raised her voice against discrimination and emphasized the need to attain education. Savitribai Phule died on March 10, 1897, while treating a patient.

The University of Pune was renamed, Savitribai Phule University, in memory of the social reformer in  2014.