International Women's Day Special

What were the key milestones of women education and empowerment in Mumbai, and who were the city's first women achievers and champions of change?

Till early nineteenth century, the prevalent political and social authorities were vociferously opposed to the very idea of women's education. One of the earliest pioneers to incept a school for girls in the year 1838 was a dynamic couple: Scottish missionary Rev. John Wilson and his wife Margaret. Their school was set up in the mansion of Jagannath Shankarshet which was located in Thakurdwar. Another school came up in the same area on June 13, 1848, which became popular due to the herculean efforts of its first principal, a visionary lady called Kamala Vaidya.?

In 1875, a postmaster from Belgaum Sorabji Kharshetji sent a letter to Bombay University seeking permission to allow his daughter Piroje to appear for the matriculation examination. The permission was squarely denied.?

In fact, Calcutta University was the first to allow girls to appear for matric exam in 1877. Bombay University followed in the footsteps of Calcutta University but much later.

In 1888, Cornelia Sorabji became the first female graduate of Bombay University.?

On March 11, 1889, Pandita Ramabai (formerly Ramabai Dongre) founded a school for child widows in Mumbai called ‘Sharada Sadan’ which was later shifted to Pune. She was the first woman to be awarded the title of?Pandita?as a?Sanskrit?scholar.

Among the earliest ladies to earn a medical degree were Dr. Manak Tarkhadkar (who was a rank holder in the L M & S exam in 1892), Dr. Rakhma (who earned her L.R.C.P and M.D degrees from England), and Dr. Aanandi Gopal (who earned her degree from America but unfortunately died young)

Bhikaiji Rustom Cama almost lost her life during the 1896 plague epidemic serving poor patients. Later, she joined Savarkar’s ‘Abhinav Bharat’ campaign. She created history by unfurling the Indian flag at Stuttgart, Germany on August 18, 1907. Despite her selfless activism which knew no bounds, she died unsung at a Parsi Charitable hospital. Today, the Madam Cama Road on Nariman Point keeps her memory alive for anyone who cares to look back.

In 1905, Kumari Ruben became the first woman to stand first in the matriculation exam of the Bombay University.

In 1918, Seeta Narayan Ajgaonkar became the first woman to win the Jagannath Shankarshet Sanskrit scholarship.?

In 1921, Sulabha Panandikar became the first woman to win the Jagannath Shankarshet Sanskrit scholarship as also the Ellis Prize at the Matriculation examination. She was later bestowed with the Padma Shri award in recognition of her pioneering work in the field of education.?

On January 25, 1924, Barrister Mithan Tata was the first woman to enter the Bombay High Court. She also acquired MA and BSc. degrees prior to studying law. On March 24, 1933, Cecilia Clementina Ferrerira became the first solicitor of Bombay High Court.

Dr. Malini Sukhtankar was the first chairperson of the Bombay School Committee during 1933-34. She earned her MBBS degree in 1917 and became renowned as a competent medical professional of her time.??

The Jewish Indian Flora Sassoon was arguably the first woman industrialist of Mumbai. A competent businesswoman, she was also a committed social reformer. She later migrated to England but her love for Mumbai was undying, and she played the gracious hostess to several tourists arriving from Mumbai.

In the third decade of the twentieth century, Lady Meherbai Tata, wife of Sir Dorabji Tata, worked tirelessly for the social upliftment of the downtrodden and the emancipation of women. She was instrumental in the inception of Bombay Presidency Women’s Council and the National Council of Women. She also ensured India’s entry into the International Council of Women. She was diagnosed with leukemia and succumbed to the disease in Wales at the age of 50. In line with the great Tata tradition of embedding personal remembrance into the larger cause of philanthropy and social development, Sir Dorabji founded the Lady Tata Memorial Trust??in April 1932 which promotes and sponsors scientific research into diseases of the blood, with special references to leukemia, aimed at alleviation of human suffering from disease.?

Khurshid Khanum Kaasim Ali Jairojbhai did pioneering work for the education of Muslim women during the years 1920 till 1940. The Makka-Madina photographs that she clicked during her Haj pilgrimage in 1932 were appreciated in Europe and US where she went as part of her world tour. She was also appointed Justice of Peace at one time (a position equivalent to today’s Mayor.)

Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay was a fiery Bombay Youth League activist who played a crucial role in the 1930 civil disobedience movement. As an eloquent orator, she toured America, China, and Japan and was revered as a towering thought leader of her time.

In 1942, one name left an indelible impression on all Mumbaikars for her revolutionary exploits: Aruna Asaf Ali. She went on to become one among the country’s finest educators, political activists, and publishers. She was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1997.

A mysterious news reader emerged on Usha Mehta’s Secret Congress Radio in 1942 who read the news for a consecutive span of 90 days, and yet police and the courts had no clue as to her identity. It was only after her demise that the world came to know her by her real name: Kamal Wood, professor of English at Elphinstone College and later, at Ismail Yusuf College, Jogeshwari.