women pioneers across varied fields

INDIA’S FIRST WOMEN

As more women establish themselves successfully, Education Times presents women pioneers across varied fields. Read on to be inspired

GRADUATE AND PHYSICIAN: KADAMBINI GANGULY  

The first Indian woman graduate (along with Chandramukhi Basu) and the first Indian woman to be trained in western medicine, Kadambini decided to pursue medicine post marriage. However, in spite of succeeding in joining the Calcutta Medical College in 1884 she had to deal with immense male hostility. Many members of the faculty were opposed to the idea of a woman physician. As a result, after four years of study Kadambini passed all the papers in her course except the one on medicine. This meant that she could not get an MB degree and was instead awarded the degree of GBSM (Graduate of Bengal Medical College). 

 
LAWYER: CORNELIA SORABJI  
Was the first woman to practice law in India and UK. She was the first woman barrister from India, a social reformer and a writer. Sorabji has many firsts to her credit, first woman graduate from Bombay University, first woman to read law at Oxford University and also the first Indian national to study at any British university. In 2012, her bust was unveiled at Lincoln's Inn, London. 

 
MOTORWOMAN: SUREKHA YADAV
    Asia’s first motorwoman is also India’s first mail driver. Surekha, a diploma holder in electrical engineering from Karad, Maharashtra has been driving suburban local trains for over a decade. Before that, she worked as an assistant driver on goods trains covering long distances for 10 years. 

 
PHOTOJOURNALIST: HOMAI VYARAWALLA  
India’s first woman press photographer Homai Vyarawalla’s work aptly captures a crucial time in India’s history including the last days of the British Empire in India as well as India’s newly gained independence. Vyarawalla, who passed away at the age of 99, was from a middleclass Parsi family in Navsari, Gujarat. Born to an actor in a travelling Urdu-Parsi theatre company, she learned photography from Maneckshaw Vyarawalla, whom she married later. After a career of 33 years as press photographer, Homai gave it up at the age of 57. 

 
FIREWOMAN: HARSHINI KANHEKAR
    Kanhekar created history when she became the first-ever female student to get admission in the fire engineering course at the National Fire Service College in Nagpur, Maharashtra—the only institution of its kind in India.
    She was always fascinated by the uniform. However, nothing stopped her from entering a male dominated profession. Sheer determination and confidence saw Kanhekar become India’s first woman firefighter and an inspiration to many. 

 
SUPREME COURT JUDGE: KUMARI FATHIMA BEEVI
    Justice M Fathima Beevi completed of Law from Law College, Trivandrum rolled as an advocate on September 14, 1950 pointed as Munsiff in the Kerala Sub-ordinate Services in May 1958, her career trajectory from being a subordinate judge (1968), chief cial magistrate (1972), district and sessions judge (1974), judicial member of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (1980), became a High Court a judge in 1983. She retired as the High Court judge in 1989 only to be to the position of being the first woman the Supreme Court of India on September retiring three years later in 1992.