"For most of history, Anonymous was a woman."
— Virginia Woolf
The quote above, taken from the English modernist writer Virginia Woolf's formative essay 'A Room of One's Own', encapsulates — perhaps too perfectly, sadly — the place of women’s stories in the historical record. There's no denying it: for too long, our histories, often written by men, have been gendered and biased against women. Like Woolf wrote, women’s role in history has been largely anonymous. The last two centuries, however, have seen the tables turning, and now we are slowly recognising women's tremendous contributions in shaping our modern world.
In recognition and celebration of women's achievements on this International Women's Day, here's a look at nine extraordinary Indian women who broke glass ceilings in their respective fields and pushed the envelope for future generations. They are a reminder of how Indian women — like women everywhere — had to rise out of oppression, marginalisation, and obscurity under patriarchy to claim their rightful place in the world.
Dr. Anandi Gopal Joshi (31 March 1865 – 26 February 1887) was the first Indian woman to earn a medical degree in the U.S.A. in 1886, overcoming societal barriers to study at the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. Learn more about here short but remarkable life here.
Edavalath Kakkat Janaki Ammal (formally known as Janaki Ammal) (4 November 1897 – 7 February 1984) was a botanist and cytogeneticist known for her work on plant breeding, cytogenetics, and phytogeography. Her most notable work involved studies on sugarcane and the eggplant. She also worked on the cytogenetics of a range of plants and co-authored the book 'Chromosome Atlas of Cultivated Plants' (1945) with C.D. Darlington. She took an interest in ethnobotany and plants of medicinal and economic value from the rainforests of Kerala, India. She was the first woman scientist at the Botanical Survey of India, and received the Padma Shri award in 1977. To learn more about her life and work, read 'Chromosome Woman, Nomad Scientist: E. K. Janaki Ammal, A Life 1897–1984' (2023) by Savithri Preetha Nair.
Dr Rukhmabai Raut (22 November 1864 – 25 September 1955) was one of India’s first practicing female doctors and feminists. She is best known for being involved in a landmark legal case involving her marriage as a child bride between 1884 and 1888. The case raised significant public debate across several topics, which most prominently pitched law against tradition, social reform against conservatism, and feminism in both British-ruled India and England. This ultimately led to the framing and adoption of the landmark Age of Consent Act in 1891. In 1894, she received her Doctor of Medicine degree from the London School of Medicine for Women (LSMW).
Usha Mehta (25 March 1920 – 11 August 2000) was a freedom fighter who organized the clandestine Congress Radio during the Quit India Movement in 1942, broadcasting anti-colonial messages over the airwaves. She was imprisoned by the British Indian authorities for her activism. In 1998, the Government of India conferred on her the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award in India. Learn more about Usha Mehta's contribution to the Indian Freedom Movement here.
Tarabai Shinde (1850–1910) was one of India’s earliest feminist writers. Born in the Berar province of Buldhana in Maharashtra, Tarabai was a women’s rights activist who protested 19th-century Indian society's patriarchal norms. Her book, 'Stri Purush Tulana', which translates to 'A Comparison between Women and Men', was first published in 1882, and is considered to be one of India's first modern feminist texts. Shinde's defiance of inherent patriarchy in Hindu scriptures remains controversial even today. Learn more about Tarabai Shinde here.
Ayyalasomayajula Lalitha (27 August 1919 – 12 October 1979) became the first woman to graduate from College of Engineering, Guindy (CEG), University of Madras — the oldest technical institution in India — and became the first Indian woman engineer in 1943. She broke gender norms in a male-dominated field and worked on electrification projects across India after independence. Learn more about here here.
Dr. Reddy (30 July 1886 – 22 July 1968) was a medical practitioner, social reformer, and the first Indian woman to become a legislator in British India in 1926. She passed laws against the exploitative Devadasi system and founded the Adyar Cancer Institute. Learn more about her here.
Nilima Ghose (15 June 1935) was one of the first Indian women Olympian athletes. She was part of the first female team from India which also included athlete Mary D'Souza to compete at the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland. Ghose was just 17 years old when she competed in two events — the 80m and 100m hurdles — at the 1952 Summer Olympics. Learn more about Ghose here.
Eliza Quark, Kewark, or Kevork was an Armenian-Indian businesswoman in 18th-century Surat, present-day Gujarat. She managed a global trade network and dealt with European traders alongside her husband Theodore Forbes, defying gender norms prevalent in India and Europe at the time. She was, also, apparently the great-great-great-great-great-grandmother of Prince William, the Prince of Wales, and heir apparent to King Charles III of UK. Learn more about this elusive Indian woman here.
If you enjoyed reading this, here's more from Homegrown:
A Woman's World: The Fearless Indian Women Who Led Us
Nirali Naik's Short Film Highlights The Ripple Effect Of Women's Empowerment
Femininomenon: Meet The 20th Century Women Who Shaped Modern Indian Art