No, she did not give up…

People have been so afraid of educating their daughters because they would say, “If tomorrow daughters become educated, they will write letters to boys.” This exposes the inherent fears of this patriarchal society. This means that if girls become educated, they will fight for their rights, they will take their rights themselves, they will not need to become dependent on anyone.

By Ayasha Kaur

Today, maybe, I am able to write because...

Today maybe I am able to write because she, and he, gave me this right, or gave it to many children like me.

So, who gave us, this fundamental right?

Indeed, the struggle behind it can neither be measured nor can it be weighed. By now you may have understood whom I am talking about. Yes, Savitribai Phule and Jyotiba Rao Phule. They not only fought to provide education to the poorest of the poor, and those condemned in the social margins of the caste system, but also succeeded in giving us a vision and a direction. They were supported throughout this fight by Usman Sheikh, Fatima Sheikh, Tatya Tope, and many others.

Savitirbai Phule and Fatima Sheikh with their students.

All of them, rare and brave people. Pioneers, against all odds.

 Many entrenched elements against which they struggled are still alive in our society. Someone who cares little for social justice, or empowerment of the downtrodden, is always visible in power. At the same time, no matter how much we say that the caste system does not exist, we know how deep and difficult the truth is, and we can also see it. It’s transparent, this bitter reality, like sunlight.

Tell me, even today, how many children are able to get basic and higher education, and how many girls, with no education or social power, have been forced to become dependent on their husbands, and follow the dominant male narrative.

I would like to talk about our society today -- how much change has come in it. (“A woman’s duty is to carry forward her lineage.”) This statement kills a woman from inside; while her soul and being is still alive. That means a woman is only meant to to give birth to children, and perform domestic chores. Since they are born, they are fated to follow this absurd doctrine.

Don’t they have the right to education?

Do they not have their own individual and fundamental rights?

Although women’s education has progressed a lot since the days before Independence, but caste discrimination, social isolation and multiple pressures, the pressure of marriage, and many similar challenges have to be faced by them to get education, which is the right of a human being, whether he is a boy or a girl.

Jyotiba Phule says, “You want freedom from the British who came a hundred years ago, but I have come to talk about the freedom that was taken away thousands of years ago.”

We can see that the so-called upper caste people have kept the so-called lower caste people enslaved for ages. Barring rare exceptions. And because of this, they have to follow all those practices that the so-called upper caste people have prepared in the name of God and religion, and the hierarchical Varna Vyavastha.

That means the so-called lower caste cannot fetch water from their wells in many rural areas, they can only come out in the afternoon, or in a certain time of day, they can’t enter certain spaces, they can’t celebrate certain events publicly, and their children cannot study or dream of fulfilling their suppressed dreams in this society.

Because, if they study, they will ask questions, they will doubt and use logic and rationality, they will demand their rights; while many of them are still considered untouchable and treated worse than animals.

These practices are still so deeply entrenched in society that countless more Phules will have to sacrifice their lives to remove them, and who knows how many more struggles will have to be waged?

The saddest thing is that when a woman herself considers her daughter’s education unnecessary, or as a form of corruption of mind. That means the so-called lower caste has accepted that they are lower caste, and also that they will eternally be mental and social slaves of the dominant castes.

It has also been seen that people have been so afraid of educating their girls because they would say, “If tomorrow daughters become educated, they will write letters to boys.”

This utterance exposes the inherent fears, prejudice and dogma of this patriarchal society. This means that if girls become educated, they will fight for their rights, they will take their rights themselves, they will not need to become dependent on anyone. They will not even have to think about following petty rituals and customs.

They can be enlightened, professionally skilled and happy – and they can fulfill their dreams and aspirations. They can make this world a much better place.

Is this still believed today?

Shouldn’t a wife remarry after her husband’s death?

Will widows be forced to carry the burden of isolation and subservience all their life? Why can’t she start a new, happy life? Forge a new identity?

And is a woman’s identity still with her husband? And only with her husband?

Aren’t girls and women, especially those in the margins, still fighting for their rights, either spending their life within four walls, cooking, dusting, cleaning, washing, bringing up children, feeding the entire family? Or, working as construction workers, street vendors, domestic maids,etc, to sustain their home and hearth -- hence doing many times more hard work.

Isn’t it still like this today?

Being from the so-called lower caste is as difficult as it is, but being a woman is even more difficult, especially those from the lower strata, and the working class -- without land, property, economic status or political power, trapped in the margins of society. We can see this very clearly in our society.

Knowledge is better than worship. Although this piece of wisdom is not directly written in any religious text, its meaning is connected to the importance of education. That means education and knowledge can help a person think and understand in a new way, and also help to see the truth of society more closely.

Savitribai Phule said in the beginning, “We are ready to die, but we will not remain imprisoned within four walls.”

That is why, as much as we see Jyotiba Phule’s struggle, even more we see Savitribai Phule’s brave struggle, her relentless fight. Countless times she had to face dirty mud and dirty water, dung, filth, and people’s abuses and taunts, but, still, she did not give up.

She never ever gave up.

Jyotiba Phule had also said that he wanted to first give self-respect to every person. Even after many schools were closed, he opened schools again and again, and educated many children. Amidst a sea of violence, he ferried the children across the turbulent waters with the sturdy boat of education.

If I remember, Jyotiba said simply, that in our society, to emotionally manipulate people in the name of religion and caste, to incite them, is a very easy job. Is this phenomena still present today? Can we see this around us? Does it still happen today that the so-called lower caste is not allowed to enter temples?

If different religions have their own Gods, which is a very beautiful feeling, then why do people hold so much jealousy against each other’s religions? Or social identities?

Because, if my God has created everyone, then the people created by ‘their’ God -- are just like me.

So why such hatred? That I should even stay away from their shadow?

Savitribai Phule was a woman who not only raised her voice for women’s education but also educated them and broke many taboos related to women. And in the end, she lit the funeral pyre of her husband. And in Jyotiba Phule’s journey, from Jyoti Rao to Mahatma Jyoti Rao Phule, she played an equal and dignified part.

Society can still be changed going forward. Today, inequality has definitely reduced, but, surely, it has not ended. Because this is a torch of ideas, of books, of knowledge, and it can be kept burning with our thoughts and action -- until the caste system of this society ends and light arrives into the dense darkness of our life and times.

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Ayesha Kaur is a 12th grader from the Humanities stream in a first generation English medium school, who loves writing about social issues, also travelogues, book and film reviews. She is studying at Nanakmatta Public School, District Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand.

Top photos 1 and 2: Courtesy wikipedia.