have more freedom, including the protection of widows and child brides, many of whom were made destitute by in-laws.Ramabai was born into an intellectual Hindu Marathi -speaking Chitpavan Brahmin family at Karnataka (Karkala Taluk, Mangalore District). Her father, Anant Shastri Dongre,who stayed at a place in western ghats called Gangamoola,(Mala village,Karkala,Karnataka)