Vol. 1, Issue 8, Part M (2015)

Abstract
This paper is an attempt to trace the journey of an upper-class, upper-caste Brahmin woman from Maharashtra during the late 19th and 20th century India. Married as a child bride, an uneducated girl is pained to witness the pitiable and constricted life of women at her parental and then at her marital home. Supported by her husband, she gets an opportunity to see and understand the outside world and the socio-political challenges being faced by the country at that time. Going against the social norms, her husband teaches her how to read and write, and later on makes arrangements for her to learn English. With the unflinching support and inspiration of her husband, Yashodabai decides to work for the cause of women, supports women in need and establishes Vanita Samaj. All her four daughter become well-educated and the eldest one becomes one of the first women doctors of India. This story is a tale of evolution of a demure, uneducated and timid girl to a woman with sagacity and grit, who utilized the opportunity provided by her husband to uplift herself and women of her era at large for the betterment of overall social-cultural environment.