Kadambini Ganguly, one of India’s first female doctors, paved the way for women’s liberation at a time when men dominated the cultural and social discourse. Along with other female doctors such as Anandibai Joshi, she established a successful medical practice for women in India. On the 160th birthday of Kadambini Ganguly, one of India’s first female doctors, Google honored her life and work with a doodle on its Indian homepage.
Ganguly was born on July 18, 1861, and was the first woman admitted to the Calcutta Medical College in 1884, a remarkable achievement by late-nineteenth-century standards given that the institution was almost entirely populated by men.
Kadambini Ganguly, along with other female doctors like Mumbai’s Anandibai Joshi, pioneered a successful medical practice for women in India. The fact that Ganguly and Joshi both graduated from medical school in 1886 settles the debate over who was India’s first female doctor. While Ganguly attended Calcutta Medical College, Joshi attended Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in the United States. Joshi’s career, however, was cut short by her untimely death at the age of 21 in 1887.
Kadambini Ganguly’s recognition by Google for her groundbreaking work in medical practice and women’s liberation is timely, but it also comes after years of neglect. Dwarakanath Ganguly, a prominent Brahmo Samaj leader, married her for the second time after his first wife died a few years before they married.
Post Your Comments