Fatima Sheikh New York: Popular internet search engine Google on Sunday decorated its homepage with a doodle to mark the birth anniversary of India's first female Muslim teacher, educator and feminist icon Fatima Sheikh.
"Today’s Doodle celebrates Indian educator and feminist icon Fatima Sheikh, who is widely considered to be India’s first Muslim woman teacher. Alongside fellow pioneers and social reformers Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule, Sheikh co-founded the Indigenous Library in 1848, one of India’s first schools for girls," read a statement issued by the Google doodle's official website.
Fatima Sheikh was born on this day in 1831 in Pune, India.
She lived with her brother Usman, and the siblings opened their home to the Phules after the couple was evicted for attempting to educate people in lower castes.
The Indigenous Library opened under the Sheikhs' roof.
Here, Savitribai Phule and Fatima Sheikh taught communities of marginalized Dalit and Muslim women and children who were denied education based on class, religion, or gender.
Although Sheikh’s story has been historically overlooked, the Central government shone new light on her achievements in 2014 by featuring her profile in Urdu textbooks alongside other trailblazing Indian educators.
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