Remembering Savitribai Phule

“Our fingerprints don’t fade from the lives we touch”

-Judy bloom

The noble profession of teaching has been a marker of reform in society. As it is through education, ideas, thoughts, and beliefs are exchanged and thus classrooms become fundamental to bringing about any reform in society. One such reformer who truly subscribed to this ideology is Savitribai Phule. Born on 3rd January 1831 in a small village in Maharashtra, Jyotiba’s ideas continue to find their way into larger debates of academia.

Seen as an inspiring feminist icon, Savitribai is recognized as the first female teacher of India who inspired women to use education as both a shield and a weapon to fight against the ills of a caste-ridden society. Savitribai herself belonged to the Mali community, a backward farmer caste of Maharashtra, with no formal school education. She was later married to Jyoti Rao Phule at the tender age of nine.

Savitribai believed that it is through education and knowledge that one can truly break the shackles of society and propagate new and revolutionary ideas of change. By overcoming societal odds and with the support of her progressive husband, she studied at home and later joined the Teacher’s training institute in Pune. After which she started teaching girls in Mahawada district of Pune. Subsequently, she started a school at Bhide Wada along with some help which came to be the first all-girls school for women run by Indians.

Several innovative features were introduced in schools such as regular parent-teacher meets, stipends for students to attend school, and a focus on mathematics, English, and the social sciences as opposed to the schools back then which were only open for upper-caste men and were only taught Vedas and shastras. In her crusade against oppression, she was joined by the first Muslim female teacher Fatima sheikh and together the packed powerhouse served as icons of intersectional feminist in the 1830s.

In a society where Sati was still practiced and the role of women was confined to childbearing, she managed to educate hundreds of girls through her unwavering efforts. When the upper caste orthodox Hindus tried to derail her by spreading rumors and throwing eggs, cow dung, and stones at her, she carried an extra saree in her bag to teach in the classroom. Therefore, her courage was a testament to the belief that education is of true value to women.

From 1848 to 1852, along with her husband Jyotiba, she also opened a total of 18 schools for females across Maharashtra, owing to increased enrollment. The British government congratulated them on their achievement. Following that, the couple established a night school for working-class women and their children. In Maharashtra, they established 52 free hostels for disadvantaged students.

Later she also set up a feminist organization called the Mahila Seva Mandal for all caste, classes, and religions and vehemently opposed child marriage and promoted widow remarriage. Further, she also led a movement against the barber community who shaved the heads of widowed women and set up a home to prevent feticide, welcoming pregnant widows into her own house. Savrtibai also led the satyashodhak samaj, an organization representing the voices of marginalized communities, challenging the status co of caste marriages during that time.

Therefore, Savitribai was not only a teacher but also a real changemaker, and stories such as that of hers that continue to inspire generations, deserve to be heard, told, and retold for society to truly progress.