When she was nine years old, Savitri was married to thirteen- year-old Jyotirao Phule. Savitri yearned to be able to go to school, to read books. Jyotiba wanted his wife to be educated as well, and so he taught her. Soon, she learnt not just to read and write, but also trained as a teacher. Together, Savitribai and Jyotirao Phule started schools where girls and boys, dalit children, and those who had been shunned from schools till then could get educated. They fought against caste atrocities. They made sure that women learnt of their rights to exist with dignity.

Savitribai Phule became one of India's first woman teachers and female reformers. She faced incredible opposition to her work when people attacked her not just with words but even with stones and dung. But nothing could stop her.

This is the enduring story of a woman who looked at age-old injustices and prejudice in the eye, and overcame them with courage and the power of learning.

SWATI SENGUPTA is an author and journalist. Her books include Out of War (Speaking Tiger Books, 2016), Guns on My Red Earth (Rupa, 2013), Half the Field Is Mine (Scholastic, 2014), The Talking Bird (Tulika Books, 2014) and A Tea Garden Party (Pratham Books, 2021). She translated Murder in the City (Speaking Tiger Books, 2018) from Bengali to English. Swati runs a workshop series on gender for young adults. She studied English at Jadavpur University and lives in Kolkata.