Holidays honor people or events. If you could create a new holiday, what person or event would it honor and how would you want people to celebrate it? Use specific reasons and details to support your answer.

Holidays are to honor people or certain historic events that need to be remembered and respected not only as a part of history but also as symbols that champion the true essence of humanity. If i was granted the authority to declare a holiday, i would have chosen 3rd of January every year to mark the birth anniversary of Mrs Savitribai Phule.

Back in late 1800s, Mrs Savitribai Phule was a great womens’ right activist. She, along with her husband Mr. Jyotirao Phule, started the first girls’ school in Pune, Maharashtra in 1848. However the school had to be closed, later, because there was not much support from the lower caste people at that time. She realized that in order to truly uplift the condition of women in the society, she must also act against the maleficent conditions that plague them rather than just working on their education.

Those times were actually very difficult for women. The practice of child marriage was rampant and widely practiced. Because of high mortality rates, women were widowed and widows were treated with contempt. Their heads were shaved in order to make them unattractive to men. Moved by their plight, Savitribai Phule and her husband organized strikes to penalize the barbers in order to persuade them not to shave their heads. Those widows often fell prey to lusting men because they had no right of denial. Often pregnant and ostracized by the society, they resorted to either killing the newborns or attempting suicide. There was one case were Mr Jyotibai Phule stopped a pregnant young widow from committing suicide by offering to adopt her child. Mrs Savitribai phule accepted her husband’s decision and took in the young widow. They nurtured her child and treated him as their own son. Later that child grew up to be Dr Yashwant Phule, a famous physician.

Not only did the Phule family play a very significant role in women emancipation, they helped hundreds during the third bubonic plague pandemic. In 1897, this pandemic was at its peak and people were dropping like flies. Mrs Phule, despite knowing that plague was a communicable disease, carried a 2 year old infected baby, left behind by her parents, to her son’s clinic. Unfortunately, the baby did not survive and Mrs Phule contracted the disease herself and died later on.

The above contributions need to be recognized by the entire country. Not only to honor her life but also to bring forth the true spirit of humanity in order to inspire everyone. This holiday, that i propose, should not be considered as just another non-working day. People, be it children, adults, or elders, must engage in taking up a situation plaguing the society as a whole and work diligently to regress and eliminate it slowly and entirely. For example- Corruption is one of the plagues dominating and infecting not only India but every society in the world. On this day, people must pledge that they won’t give or take bribe, ever. Also, 3rd of January, every year, should be considered as an opportunity to educate the children with the morals and values that the life of Mrs Savitribai Phule teaches us. This will ensure that our young, will grow up with strong values of compassion and respect for women.

By the way of conclusion, if i had the authority to declare a day as a holiday, i would have chosen 3rd of January. This day should always be celebrated in such a way that the accomplishments, values, trials and tribulations of Mrs Savitribai Phule lives on forever.