New Delhi: Savitribai Phule is one of the greatest reformers in the history of India who strove all throughout her life for the betterment of women’s condition in the country and fought for their rights. Savitribai, often hailed as the pioneer of India’s feminist movement, worked at a time when women were treated as second-class citizens in our society and were subjected to extreme discrimination and prejudice. Along with her husband, Jyotirao Phule, she played a pioneering role in the education of women in our country. In this article, we will take a look at some of the lesser-known facts about Savitribai Phule.
Savitribai Phule: Lesser-known facts about the pioneer of Indian feminism
A child bride
Savitribai Phule was born on January 3, 1831, in Maharashtra’s Naigaon, a small village. She was a curious and ambitious girl who had a fascination for the world. In 1840, she married Jyotirao Phule. At that time, she was just nine years old while Jyotirao Phule was 13. Soon after the wedding, the child bride moved to Pune with her husband.
Strong determination to learn
Savitribai Phule was illiterate when she got married but had a strong penchant to learn. Once, a Christian missionary gave her a book which became Savitribai’s most prized possession. Jyotirao Phule noticed her keen desire to learn and taught her how to read and write. She embarked on a journey to acquire knowledge and undertook teachers’ training in Pune and Ahmednagar. In 1847, she became qualified as a teacher.
India’s first female teacher
Savitribai had one goal, to change the condition of women in the patriarchal society of our country. To this end, she along with her husband started possibly the first school for girls in India in 1848 at Pune’s Bhidewada and Savitribai taught there, potentially becoming India’s first female teacher. In 1853, the couple started an education society that opened schools for girls and women from all classes. They were were running three different schools for girls in Pune and had 150 students, with the curriculum being far better than those in government schools.
Attacked with stones and dung
As can be predicted, Savitribai and her husband Jyotirao faced strong resistance from the local conservative community. While going to school, she was attacked with stones and dung thrown at her. An unperturbed Savitribai carried a spare saree everyday and simply changed into it, continuing her journey.
Working for the widows and destitute women
Savitribai wanted to eradicate the plight of widows and hence in 1854, she opened a shelter for them. Later, following years of struggle, she build a large shelter for destitute women in 1864. It was also a shelter for women and child brides who have been abandoned by their families. She arranged for their education, and even adopted Yashwantrao, who was the son of a widow in the shelter. Also, she fought against child marriage and advocated widow remarriage.
Shaping the Satyashodhak Samaj
Savitribai played a crucial role in shaping the Satyashodhak Samaj (The Truthseeker’s Society) which was brainchild of her husband Jyotirao Phule. The aim of the Samaj was to eliminate discrimination and the need for social order. In 1873, she started the Satyashodhak Marriage in which couples took an oath of equality and education. After the death of her husband in 1890, she took control of the Satyashodhak Samaj.
Praised by the British Raj
Even the British colonial government in India praised the efforts of Savitribai Phule. In 1852, the British government declared her to be the state’s best teacher. In 1853, the government praised Savitribai for her world in improving women’s education in India.
A heroic death
In the 1890s, the Third Pandemic of the bubonic plague affected almost every country in the world and in 1897, the plague arrived in Maharashtra. Savitribai, always on her toes to help others, opened a clinic for plague victims in Pune’s Hadapsar and herself visited the affected areas. Once, she came to know that the 10-year-old son of a person named Babaji Gaekwad had contracted the plague. She rushed to the spot and carried the plague victim on her back to the hospital. In the process, she contracted the disease and passed away on March 10, 1897.
Savitribai Phule, a child bride who became India’s first female teacher, dedicated her life to women’s education and empowerment. Facing immense societal resistance, she established schools for girls, shelters for widows and destitute women, and championed widow remarriage and against child marriage. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
