Savitribai Phule, the first female teacher in India, was born on January 3, 1831, in the village of Naigaon, located in the Satara District of Maharashtra. In addition to her role as a teacher, she was a social reformer and poet who played a crucial part in advancing women’s rights in India. She is also recognised as a pioneer of India’s feminist movement. Below are details about her contributions to serving and uplifting society.
Women’s Education Day
Women’s Education Day is celebrated on Savitribai Phule Jayanti to honour her contributions to women’s education and social equality. Along with her husband, she established India’s first school for girls in Pune in 1848. In her struggle for women’s education, she received support from her husband Jyotirao Phule.
During that period, she experienced social ostracism for promoting women’s education. Despite the challenges she faced, Savitribai was determined to have all women educated. She started 17 schools in the country during her time. Until 1851, she had set up three schools that taught 150 girls.
Who was Savitribai Phule?
Savitribai Phule was the first female teacher in India to be known for her work on women’s education and their rights in society. She also worked for women who belonged to the lower class of society. She married in 1848 to Jyotirao Phule, who was a writer and social activist from Maharashtra. At the time of her marriage, she was illiterate. When she said that she wanted to be a teacher, Savitribai’s husband educated her and extended is knowledge to her. Once she completed her primary education under the guidance of Jyothi Rao, she continued her studios under the guidance of her friends, Sakharam Yeshwant Paranjpe and Keshav Shivram Bhavalkar.
Savitribai was fond of poetry
Savitribai Phule was very fond of poetry. She wrote poems in Marathi that advocated for values like humanism, liberty, equality, and the importance of education.
