Rukhmabai | |
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Born | 22 November 1864 |
Died | 25 September 1955 | (aged 90)
Occupation(s) | Doctor, women's emancipation |
Rukhmabai (22 November 1864 – 25 September 1955) was an Indian physician and feminist. She is best known for being one of the first practicing women doctors in colonial India (first one being Dr. Kadambini Ganguly who started practicing in 1886) as well as 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 included law vs tradition, social reform vs conservatism and feminism in both British-ruled India and England. This ultimately contributed to the Age of Consent Act in 1891.