On the occasion of the death anniversary of Savitribai Phule, the first woman teacher of India, here are 10 facts about her.
Savitribai was a social reformer, poet, and educationalist from Maharashtra who passed away on March 10, 1897, due to the bubonic plague.
She was born on January 3, 1831, in Naigaon village, Maharashtra, and was married to Jyotirao Phule at the age of 9.
Savitribai and Jyotirao started the country's first school for girls in Pune in 1848, despite opposition from society.
They also established 18 schools for children of different castes and two educational trusts.
Savitribai fought against social evils like dowry and organized a barbers' strike in Mumbai and Pune to protest the custom of shaving the heads of widows.
She wrote two books of poems and never had any children of her own but adopted a boy named Yashwantrao.