Savitribai Phule, alongside her husband Jotirao, pioneered mass education in India, co-founding the 'Native Female Schools' in 1848. Their institutions aimed to empower women and marginalized castes through education, which they viewed as a fundamental human right. The schools offered scholarships and established India's first school library. These efforts were recognized by Marathi newspapers and the British Governor of Bombay, Lord Falkland, though they also sparked anxiety among upper-caste males fearing competition from educated girls.