We become animal without wisdom,
Sit idle no more, go, get education
200 years ago in 1800s was a bad time for women to be born in India.
They would be married off even before puberty, education was out of bounds and because of mortality rates, most of them would become widows before they reached adulthood.
It was almost impossible for a woman to be educated and to reform society. But Savitribai Phule was the first woman who led the campaign to make women’s lives better.
Savitribai was born on January 3, 1831, in Maharashtra’s Naigaon village. She knew what it was like to be in a child marriage as she was married off at the tender age of 9 years to a 13-year-old boy
Jyotiba Phule, She experienced child marriage first hand.
But luckily Jyotiba Phule turned out to be a progressive man. He taught Savitribai to read and write, to the point that Savitribai would write poems. By then She understood that if she wanted to change the lives of the other women in India, she would have to educate them. And thus she became India’s first woman teacher and opened the India's first school for girls at Bhide Wada, Pune in 1848. she went on to open 18 schools for women across Bombay presidency and She also became the first woman in India to become a headmistress.
As she fought against child marriage, she also fought against the other social evils of that time like sati and caste discrimination.
Back then, the mortality rates were very high. It was common for people to die at a very young age. Because of this, child brides would often become child widows. and they were often sexually exploited and hence becoming victims of unwanted pregnancies. She opened a widow care centre called Balhatya Pratibandhak Griha in her own house to protect pregnant child widows from getting victimized by society.
Unfortunately local upper caste communities were against Savitribai's reforms, she often travelled to her school carrying an extra sari because she would be assailed by her conservative opposition with stones, cow dung, and verbal abuse.
She even opened a well inside her house so that “untouchables” could come and draw water
During the third pandemic of the bubonic plague, she opened a shelter for the sick with her son adopted Yashwantrao. She contracted the disease herself while serving the sick plague patients and died on 10 March 1897
Savitribai Phule's legacy lives on today, her work for women's education are hugely respected.
Various memorials and statues of Jyotirao Phule and Savitribai Phule are built across Maharashtra
India Post has released a stamp in honor of Phule
Even Google marked the birth anniversary of Savitribai Phule with a Google doodle.
Today, the school stands in ruins. Many of the locals are not even aware of the history of this site. In fact, the school has not even been recognized as a heritage structure. This is such an important landmark in Indian history Yet seeing it in such a dilapidated condition is depressing. Hoping local authorities will take necessary actions to preserve this historical site.
#Education #Women #womenempowerment #womenrights #SatiSystem #castesystem #savithri
This video is dedicated to India's first female teacher Mata Savitribai Phule on her 192nd birthday. In this small video I have shared hardships that followed her legendary decision of starting a class for educating women in India. I have also shared current situation of her class as of Jan 1st 2023.
#pioneer
#womanempowerment
#womenrights
#savitribaiphule
#savitribaiphulepuneuniversity
#jyotibaphule
Mooknayikaa
References:
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-culture/who-was-savitribai-phule-192nd-birth-anniversary-8357861/
https://www.storypick.com/savitribai-phule/
https://medium.com/@yuvaonline/in-dust-and-ruins-2a32a34c5b63
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savitribai_Phule#In_popular_culture
Comments
Post a Comment