Google doodle honored social reformer Savitribai Phule on the occasion of her 186th birth anniversary on Tuesday. Savitribai was the first woman teacher of the first women’s school in India. The woman, who breaks many stereotypes, was also a pioneer in modern Marathi poetry. Together with her husband Jyotirao Phule, Savitribai founded the first all women’s school at Bhide Wada in Pune in 1848.
She also became the nation’s first woman teacher and headmistress. The colorful doodle shows Savitribai Phule embracing women and positively symbolizes her efforts to empower and educate them.
Significantly, the University of Pune renamed Savitribai Phule University in 2014 in her honor. Let’s know more about the woman who played a crucial role in the struggle for women’s rights during British rule in India.
- A social reformer and poet, Savitribai Phule was born on January 3, 1831, in a family of farmers in Naigaon, Maharashtra.
2. She was nine years old when she got wedded to 13-year-old Jyotirao Phule.
3. Savitribai Phule was a noted poet and several of her poems were against prejudices and propagated education.
4. Savitribai is regarded as a key figure in Maharashtra’s social reform movements.
5. Along with her husband, Jyotirao Phule, Savitribai played a major role in the struggle for women’s rights in India during the British Raj.
6. Savitribai also started a school in 1848 with her husband. There were just nine students on the rolls and she used to be the teacher.
7. Savitribai Phule stood up for the rights of women and fought against injustice against them at a time when women were subjected to oppression.
8. The first modern Indian feminists, she also stood up against widow shaving their heads.
9. In 1998, a stamp was released by India Post in honor of Savitribai
10. Savitribai Phule also opened a care center for pregnant rape victims and aided deliver their baby. The care center was called “Balhatya Pratibandhak Griha”.
