Zariya

Fatima Sheikh: An Inspiring Educator and More

Written By author_30

Women’s education in pre-independent India faced resistance from conservative groups. 19th century India witnessed a wave of social reformation movements pertaining to female education. A well-known educator and social reformer, the name that stands out for promoting female education in India is Fatima Sheikh, the first Muslim woman educator in India. Despite being a pioneer of women’s education in the country, the historical record on Fatima Sheikh and her contributions is very sparse. What is known about her is known through the letters of the first woman educator of India, Savitribai Phule and her equally revolutionary husband Jotiba Phule. Feminist writers have produced accounts of the same period but have failed to mention her contributions adequately. This article also brings to light the friendship between the two and their feminist solidarity at a time when women’s education had to be fought for as a basic right.

As a contemporary of Savitribai and Jotiba Phule, Fatima Sheikh engaged actively in reformative activities with a special focus on education. Fatima Sheikh began to work with the Phule couple after the couple had to be turned out by their own family due to social pressure. Both Savitribai and Jotiba Phule had started the first school for children from marginalised communities in Pune. The highly castiest and patriarchal society at the time made their life extremely difficult and they had to turn to Fatima Sheikh and her brother Usman Sheikh for assistance. The siblings welcomed the couple into their home in Bhide Wada and joined them in setting up the first girls’ school (called “Indigenous Library”) there in 1848. Unlike what was taught by teachers from dominant castes in their home schools, this school’s curriculum included Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies instead of religious texts like the Vedas and Shastras (Hindu religious texts). The students came from diverse religions and caste backgrounds.

From Savitribai’s letters to her brother, we learn about the difficulties she and Fatima Sheikh faced as women teachers who dared to defy the social order. Fatima Sheikh, too, like Savitribai Phule, faced resistance both from upper caste patriarchs as well as the patriarchal orthodoxy within the Muslim community. Despite these challenges, Sheikh persevered in running the school alongside Savitribai, frequently offering advice to parents who were reluctant to send their children to school. She would travel from house to house advocating for girls’ education.

One shudders to imagine the backlash against this in 19th century society when religious orthodoxies prevailed and saw education as the prerogative of dominant caste elite males. It is because of the courage and determination of women like Fatima Sheikh that we have seen society transform over the last two centuries in the way that it has. Savitribai and Fatima Sheikh are thus feminist icons in the true sense of the term.

Fatima Sheikh enrolled in a teacher-training institute shortly after she and Savitribai started teaching together in order to receive professional training. In 2010, British academic Mary Grey wrote about Sheikh training to be a teacher in her book A Cry for Dignity: Religion, Violence and the Struggle of Dalit Women in India. “Savitribai graduated from her Training College with flying colours (along with a Muslim woman Fatima Sheikh), with her husband, she opened five schools in and around Pune in 1848…” wrote Grey.^[1]

That was her pursuit of greatness. In Savitribai Phule’s letters to her husband during this period too, there are mentions of Fatima Sheikh – an indication of their mutual respect, compassion and friendship. The friendship and association of the Sheikhs and the Phules is an early instance of intersectional feminist solidarity and sets an example for society today.

Fatima Sheikh taught at all the five schools that the Phules opened. A few sources mention that she taught until 1856, when Savitribai fell ill and moved back to her mother’s house. It is unclear what happened to her after this period due to lack of available academic resources.

Fatima Sheikh played a very significant role in teaching Muslim, Dalit, and marginalised women and children. Because of Fatima Sheikh and Savitribai, who dispelled all social norms, religious dogma, and stereotypes, society now views women as having rights. They also transformed education for girls. To put an end to ignorance.

Fatima Sheikh’s achievements were long disregarded, and her legacy was in danger of becoming obscure. Nonetheless, her work has been increasingly recognised in recent years. Her brief biography is currently included with well-known individuals like Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, Abul Kalam Azad, and Zakir Hussain in Urdu textbooks issued by Bal Bharati, the Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research. Her influence has been acknowledged outside of textbooks as well highlighting the need of remembering trailblazers like her. Although this recognition is long overdue, it is evident that India is finally beginning to give Fatima Sheikh the credit she merits as a pivotal role in both feminism and Muslim feminism.

Fatima Sheikh’s legacy also serves as a powerful reminder that education should never be a privilege reserved for a select few—it is a fundamental right for everyone. Her work directly challenges the deeply rooted structures of caste, patriarchy, communalism, and ableism that shape Indian society, showing us how education can be a force for both empowerment and unity. Truly honouring her means, resisting the systems that attempt to erase her contributions from history.

(The views expressed in this article are the author’s own. Content can be used with due credit to the author and to ‘Zariya: Women’s Alliance for Dignity and Equality’)

Footnotes: