Explanation:

The year 1896 marked the beginning of a new era in women's education in India when Dhondo Keshav Karve established an ashram for widows and helpless women at Hingne near Pune. He realized that to make these women self-sufficient, -reliant and -confident, schooling was essential. Karve launched a programme of schooling there, which became a regular school for girls and women. In a society governed by age-old customs and conservative attitudes towards women, the school was bound to face social and economic difficulties.