Hyderabad: The Telangana government will celebrate January 3 as “Women Teacher’s Day” starting Friday, commemorating the birth anniversary of Savitribai Phule, the wife of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule.
The Phule couple were the 19th Century reformers who faced all odds in educating the children, especially girls, at a time when the then Indian society was against imparting education to them.
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There have been various instances when the Phule couple were attacked by regressive forces, as they were running a school in their village. The couple have fought against the ‘Sati’ system that was prevalent in those days, against superstitions and other social evils.
Stories are still told about the hardships faced by the Phule couple, including instances where people threw stones at them as they escorted children from marginalized communities to their home-run school. They also endured societal rejection, with people refusing to provide drinking water for their schools.
Telangana government has decided to observe January 3 every year here in memory of the first female teacher of India.
Interestingly, the funds for these celebrations will be siphoned out of the education department’s annual budget, as per the order issued by chief secretary A Santhi Kumari on Thursday.
