Savitribai Phule

Indian social reformer (1831-1897)

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Lived 1831–1897, aged 66India

India WritersWriter / Author

Wikipedia
37 languages
Cross-language footprint
Era
1831–1897
Aged 66

Summary

Updated 2026-06-09

She opened India's first school for girls in 1848 — at a time when teaching a woman to read was considered dangerous, even obscene. The crowds that pelted her with stones and dung on her way to class each morning understood exactly what was at stake.

Biography

About

Born into the Mali community in 1831, Savitribai was married young and couldn't read. Her husband Jyotirao taught her at home, then sent her for formal teacher training in Pune and Ahilyanagar — making her India's first professionally trained female teacher. In 1848, with Jyotirao and Sagunabai Kshirsagar, she opened a girls' school at Bhidewada in Pune, teaching mathematics, science, and social studies against ferocious opposition. By 1851 they ran three schools with 150 students; eventually eighteen in total. She founded the Mahila Seva Mandal in 1851, co-founded the Satyashodhak Samaj in 18…

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