January 3rd marks the birth anniversary of Savitribai Phule. Born on January 3, 1831 in Naigaon in a lowly Mali (family in Maharashtra she was married off at the tender age of 10.
Critical of the prevailing Hindu religion and custom she along with her husband, Jyotirao Phule, established several schools for the uplift of the untouchables and women.
Savitribai Phule started India’s first school for girls at Pune's Bhide Wada in 1848.
To make the depressed classes conscious of their rights, she and her husband founded the Satya Sodhak Samaj in 1873.
Savitribai passed away on March 10, 1897.
