Kashibai Kanitkar
Kashibai Kanitkar was the first major woman writer in Marathi since the 15th century "sant" poet Kanhopatra.
Kashibai was born into a wealthy Brahmin family in the town of Ashte in Sangli District, and according to the social custom of her days, her marriage was arranged at the age of nine to Govind Vasudev Kanitkar.
Kashibai had no formal education, but with her progressive husband's strong encouragement, she learned to read, and gradually mastered many Marathi, Sanskrit, and English works.
John Stuart Mill's The Subjection 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:
Novels
Ranga Rao- ''Palakhicha Gonda''
Collections of short stories
Shewat Tar Goad Jhala- ''Chandanyatil Gappa''