Savitribai Phule 189th Birth Anniversary
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Savitribai Phule |
January 3, 2020 marks the 189th birthday of Savitribai Phule, a 19th century social reformer who has many accomplishments to her credit, mostly towards education of women in India. Savitribai Phule and her husband Jyotirao Phule had opened India's first school for women in Maharashtra's Pune in 1848.
She was also a poet and many of her poems were about the need to get educated. As a social reformer, Savitribai Phule had set up a care program for widows and led campaigns against caste-based discrimination. She also campaigned against Sati tradition, child marriage and other social evils.
A pioneer of advocating women’s right to education in India, Savitribai Phule’s 189th birthday is being celebrated on Friday, January 3, 2020. A revolutionary woman and a social reformer from 19th century, Savitribai Phule has a number of accomplishments to her name. She is known for her efforts towards educating women in India. She, along with her husband Jyotirao Phule, opened India's first school for women in Maharashtra’s Pune in 1848.
She helped set-up over 17 schools in the country. In 1851, she founded three schools that taught over 150 girls. Most schools at that time were only meant for those from the upper castes but Savitribai Phule and her husband started schools for ‘untouchables’.
Savitribai Phule was 9 when she was married to 13-year-old Jyotirao Phule. Her husband educated her at home and trained her to become a teacher. Along with her husband, she opened 18 schools for girls, going on to become India's first woman teacher and headmistress. Both her first and 18th school came up in Maharashtra's Pune. In her honour, the University of Pune was renamed Savitribai Phule University in 2014.
Savitribai Phule's legacy lives on today and her contribution towards women education are hugely respected.
As Prime Minister Modi tweets about and Google creates a doodle to celebrate 186th birth anniversary of Savitribhai Phule
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