At a time when even the shadow of untouchables was considered impure when the people were unwilling to offer water to thirsty untouchables, Savitribai Phule and Mahatma Jotiba Phule opened the well in their house for the use of untouchables.
Jyotirao Govindrao Phule was writer, social activist, thinker and anti-caste social reformer from Maharashtra. He is known to work towards the eradication of untouchability and the caste system and for his efforts in educating women. He and his wife, Savitribai Phule, were pioneers of women's education in India.
He is the Mahatma of modern India. His remarkable influence was apparent during the dark ages when women and harijans were denied their rights.
In 1849, when he was 22 years old, he left the home with the wife because of the oath taken to educate the harijans.
Savitribai Phule was a trailblazer in providing education for girls and for ostracized portions of society.
She was taught by her husband. This had transformed her life. She dedicated her life and helped him in every activity. Both started teaching untouchables and women. First school (In India) for the untouchables and girls were started by Phule couple at Bhidewada (Pune) on January 1, 1848. Savitribai became the first female teacher in India (1848).
She went on to establish a shelter (1864) for destitute women along with her husband. First-ever orphanage home was started by Jotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule, hence gave protection to pregnant widows who were demonised in the society.
She played a crucial role in grooming Jyotirao Phule’s pioneering institution, Satyashodhak Samaj (1873).
This institution fought for equality of all classes. People from all religions and castes could become a part of this association which worked for the upliftment of the oppressed classes. Phule is regarded as an important figure in the social reform movement in Maharashtra. He was bestowed with honorific Mahātmā Title by Maharashtrian social activist Vithalrao Krishnaji Vandekar in 1888.
Her life is heralded as a beacon of women’s rights in India. She is often referred to as the mother of Indian feminism.
The relationship between the pioneering couple of women's education in India was marked by deep and shared concerns as they provided strength to each other.
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