Savitri Bai Phule: Pioneer of women’s education
Er. Prabhat Kishore
A strong votary of women’s emancipation, Krantijyoti Savitri Bai Phule, was a renowned feminist and social reformer, who fought for the women’s empowerment and education in India.
Born on January 3, 1831 in village Naigaon in Satara district of Maharashtra, Savitri Bai Phule is considered to be one of the leading pioneers of the feminist movement in India. She stared the first ever school of girls in the country in 1948 at BhideWada, Pune.
Her efforts to spread awareness for women’s education lead her to face boycotts and abuses mostly from men at that time. Fortunately her husband, Jyotirao Phule,was one of the pillars of support to her in her journey to spread awareness about the importance of women‘s education and uplifting the status of women in India. Savitri was the victim of child marriage and was married to Phule, when she was just9-year-old.
By 1851 Savitri Bai Phule had set up three schools and was the teacher of 150 students.
She would gone to set up 17 schools in the country and all of them were of upper caste women, she and her husband set up schools for Dalits and lower caste women as well. Phule encouraged the women to attend school by offering them stipends. Women’s education was not the only things Savitri wanted Indians to take up.
She also fought against social injustices of the time like child marriage, Sati Pratha and still prevalent caste system and was also one of the first advocated for women’s right in the country. She opened awell for untouchables at her residence in a defiant act against the caste system and also started a care centre for pregnant rape victims called Balhatya Pratibandhak Griha. She set up a MahilaSeva Mandal where women would gather and she would raise awareness about women’s rights.
Apart from being a pioneer of Indian feminism, Phule was a plague warrior. She helped several people when the bubonic plague hit the world, opening up a clinic with her son, Yashwant, in 1897 to help patients. The plague ended up being the reason of her demise as she passed away on March 10, 1897.
She was also a hard heating radical writer and poet who questioned the Brahminical hegemony.
Savitri Bai Phule is among the eminent personalities whose memory illuminates the path of our nation. Nation remembers her on her birth day with hope that her actions and thoughts will guide our path.
(The author is a technocrat and an academician. He holds a Master in Engineering from M N Regional Engineering College, Allahabad/Prayagraj)
