Ramabai Ranade

Ramabai
Born	(1862-01-25)25 January 1862 Devarashtre, Bombay Presidency, British India (present-day Sangli, Maharashtra, India)
Died	25 January 1924(1924-01-25) (aged 62) Seva Sadan, Pune
Known for	Women's education and self-reliance
Spouse	Mahadev Govind Ranade

Ramabai Ranade (25 January 1862 – 25 January 1924) was an Indian social worker and one of the first women's rights activists in the early 20th century. At the age of 11, she was married to Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade, who was a distinguished Indian scholar and social reformer.

Ramabai, soon after her marriage, started to learn reading and writing with strong support and encouragement from Mahadev Govind Ranade. Starting with her native language Marathi, she strove hard to master English. In 1884, Ramabai with her husband and other colleagues established country's one of the first girls' high school Huzurpaga, in Pune.^[1]

Inspired by her husband, Ramabai started 'Hindu Ladies Social Club' in Mumbai to develop public speaking among women. After the death of her husband, Ramabai devoted the rest of her life to the betterment of women's lives mainly through the activities 'Seva Sadan Society' in Mumbai and Pune.

She was the founder and president of the Poona "Seva Sadan", which is the most successful of all Indian women's institution and is attended by thousands of women. The immense popularity of the institution was due to the fact that it was under Ramabai's close personal supervision.