Celebration of the Birth Anniversary of Fatima Sheikh, India’s First Muslim Female Teacher

Education for All: The Legacy of Savitribai Phule and Fatima Sheikh

Ramnagar: A gathering was organised at village Patrani, Ramnagar, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Fatima Sheikh, India’s first Muslim female teacher and associate of India’s first female teacher, Savitribai Phule. Addressing the gathering,President of Pragatisheel Bhojan Mata Sangathan, Sharda stated that Jyotirao Phule and Savitribai Phule, in 1848, opened the first school for girls at the home of Fatima Sheikh and her brother Usman Sheikh. This was at a time when Brahmanical beliefs held that the right to education was reserved only for higher castes and, within them, only for males. Along with the Phule couple, Fatima Sheikh also challenged these medieval notions and inspired the education of all girls, especially from backward, Dalit, and Muslim communities. It was due to the efforts of Savitribai Phule and Fatima Sheikh that girls in our country were granted the right to education without any discrimination.

Tulsi Chhimwal, Ramnagar Secretary of Pragatisheel Mahila Ekta Kendra,mentioned that despite the legal right to education for all, the failure of governments has resulted in slow educational progress among Dalit and Muslim communities in independent India. While the governments are pushing for the privatization of education, economically weaker sections are being deprived of education. In such circumstances, policies that hand over education to the market should be opposed. Due to these privatization policies, the governments are now planning to close a large number of government schools across the country, including in Uttarakhand, which requires students, parents, and teachers to unite in protest.

During the event, Food Mothers and rural women such as Shanti, Janaki, Prema, Basanti, Sharda, and Tulsi participated.