Vela Kirani

Indian social reformer who pioneered women's education in rural areas

Vela Kirani (1926-2015) was a visionary social reformer from Tamil Nadu, India who dedicated her life to empowering rural women through education. Despite coming from a conservative Brahmin family, she defied societal norms by establishing India's first girls' school in a sugarcane field in 1948. Her interview with UNESCO reveals her innovative approach of using local materials for construction and involving mothers in curriculum design.

By 1960, her schools had educated over 5,000 girls using her signature 'Education Through Agriculture' model, where students learned arithmetic through crop yields and science through local ecosystems. The Kirani Methodology became a blueprint for UNESCO's literacy programs in developing nations. Her 1958 book Roots of Liberation (available on Internet Archive) details her philosophy of 'learning as liberation.'

In 1972, she founded the Pan-Asian Women's Collective, connecting activists from 14 countries. Her legacy endures through the Kirani Network, operating 200+ schools across South Asia. Recent BBC reports highlight her methods' relevance in modern girls' education initiatives.