01/07/2025
๐โค๏ธ In 19th-century India, opponents would throw stones, mud, and cow dung at Savitribai Phule nearly every day on her walk to work.
Her 'crime' was teaching. She was on her way to the first school for girls in the country, a school that she herself founded.
Together with her husband, Jyotirao Phule, she sought to challenge the deeply entrenched view that education was not for girls or for people of lower castes.
In 1848, they opened their school in Pune. They started with just nine students, enrolling girls from different social and religious backgrounds.
Savitribai became India's first professionally trained female teacher and headmistress, paving the way for others to follow.
The opposition was relentless. She would often arrive at school with her sari soiled, so she started carrying a spare one to change into before starting her lessons ๐
Her work went beyond the classroom. She fought against the caste system and advocated for the rights of widows and other marginalized people.
Her life of service came to an end in 1897. She contracted the bubonic plague after carrying a sick child from an infected area to her clinic, dying while caring for others.
Savitribai Phule's tireless efforts created a foundation for women's education and social reform that continues to influence India today โค๏ธ๐