Kashibai Kanitkar (1861–1948) was the first major woman writer in Marathi

Marathi language

Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...

 from Maharashtra

Maharashtra

Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 since the 15th century "sant

Sant

Sant is an Indian term derived from a Sanskrit verb that means both "to be good" and "to be real". From the fifteenth century the term has often referred to those who sing the name of God and worship Him, particularly the bhakti poets of Marathi...

" poetess Kanhopatra

Kanhopatra

Kanhopatra or Kanhupatra was a 15th century Marathi saint-poetess, venerated by the Varkari sect of Hinduism.Little is known about Kanhopatra. According to most traditional accounts, Kanhopatra was a courtesan and dancing-girl...

 .

Kashibai was born into a wealthy Brahmin

Brahmin

Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...

 family in the town of Ashte in Sangli District

Sangli district

Sangli district is a district of Maharashtra state in west-central India. Sangli city is the district headquarters. The district is 24.51% urban. Sangli and Miraj are the largest cities. The industrial town of Kirloskarwadi is also located in the Sangli District...

, and according to the social custom of her days, her marriage was arranged at her age 9 to one Govind Vasudev Kanitkar (who was seven years older than she was).

Kashibai had no formal education, but with her progressive husband's strong encouragement, she learned to read, and gradually mastered many Marathi

Marathi language

Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...

, Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

, and English works.

John Stuart Mill

John Stuart Mill

John Stuart Mill was a British philosopher, economist and civil servant. An influential contributor to social theory, political theory, and political economy, his conception of liberty justified the freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state control. He was a proponent of...

's Subjugation of Women had a powerful impact on her, and through her prolific and wide-ranging writings—both fiction and non-fiction—she promoted women's emancipation.

The following is a partial list of Kashibai's works:

Collections of short stories

• Shewat Tar Goad Jhala (शेवट तर गोड झाला)
• Chandanyatil Gappa (चांदण्यातील गप्पा)