About Pune Sevasadan Society

Ramabai Ranade (1862 – 1924) is considered a pioneer of the modern women’s movement in India and beyond. She was born on January 25, 1862, into the Kurlekar family. Her marriage in 1873, at the age of 11, to Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade changed her life completely. Mahadev Ranade, a social reformer himself, encouraged Ramabai to educate herself after their marriage. He taught her Marathi and other languages.

Ramabai started the Hindu Ladies Social Club in Mumbai. After the tragic death of her husband in 1901, Ramabai moved to Pune and, on October 2, 1909, established Sevasadan for the rehabilitation of distressed women. She was supported by Gopal Krushna Deodhar, who was the first Honorary Secretary of Sevasadan. This pioneering effort enabled thousands of women to become literate, self-reliant, and economically independent.

Ramabai understood that educating women would improve their social status and encouraged them to pursue professions such as nursing. She had to contend with an orthodox social environment to persuade young girls and widows to take up nursing as a profession.

Despite the challenging social environment, Ramabai’s continuous efforts led to the rapid growth of Sevasadan. In her autobiography, आमच्या आयुष्यातील काही आठवणी (Some Memories of Our Lives), she described the efforts required to overcome a society that opposed women’s rights to equal status and education.

Initially, Sevasadan was intended for widows and divorcees. As times changed, Sevasadan evolved into an institution with a difference, establishing a variety of educational facilities including a high school, junior college, adult primary and high school, pre-primary and primary Marathi medium schools, a D.Ed college, a girls’ hostel, a sheltered workshop for mentally challenged children, and an English medium co-ed pre-primary, primary, and high school.