Rukhmabai

Rukhmabai was a late 19th century Indian physician, known not only for her professional achievements but also for her stand on social issues, notably child marriage. Opting to use only her first name, she distanced herself from conventional marital identity norms.

 

She was the first Hindu woman in India to obtain a legal divorce, challenging the norms of child bride practices and subsequently influencing the enactment of the Age of Consent Act in 1891.

 

Her legal battle drew support from several notable figures, including Edith Pechey of the Edinburgh Seven, the first group of matriculated undergraduate female students at a British university. 

 

This support helped fund Rukhmabai's medical education in England: she studied at the London School of Medicine for Women and worked at hospitals in Brighton and Dublin.

 

Rukhmabai's connection to Edinburgh was further deepened when she moved there to take the Triple Qualification exam from the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh , a necessary step due to the restrictions on women fully qualifying as physicians in London at the time. 

 

Her success in Edinburgh enabled her to return to India as a qualified doctor, where she held prominent positions, such as the Chief Medical Officer at the Women’s Hospital in Surat and later at the Zenana Hospital in Rajkot.