Savitribai Phule, the woman who helped set up the first school for girls in India Savitribai Phule was a trailblazer in providing education for girls and for ostracized portions of society. She became the first female teacher in India (1848) and opened a school for girls with her husband, Jyotirao…

Begum Hazrat Mahal, or ‘Begum of Awadh’, was one of India’s first female freedom fighters, leading the battle in the First Indian War of Independence in 1857. Bold and tenacious, Begum Hazrat Mahal has marked her place in history as the only major leader of the First Indian War of…

The life of a pioneer in feminism Tarabai Shinde Tarabai Shinde, born in the Berar province of Buldhana, was a women’s right’s activist who protested patriarchy. Her first published work, Stri Purush Tulana, which translates to, A Comparison between Women and Men is considered to be one the country’s first…

Razia Sultana was the first woman Sultanate of India, and ruled the court of Delhi from the end of 1236 to 1240. The only ever woman to do so, she defied all odds to occupy the throne, including overcoming conflicts over her gender and her slave ancestry. During her reign,…