Cornelia Sorabji Biography 
Cornelia Sorabji was a lawyer, social reformer and writer, and her name is listed among the first list of female intellectuals with educational qualifications. Among Indian women she owns numerous records to her credit. She was the first female graduate from Bombay University, the first woman to study law at Oxford University, the first female advocate in India and also the first woman to practice law in India and Britain. She was also the first woman to be admitted as a reader to the Codrington Library of All Souls College, Oxford. A great inspiration to women, she stands as the best example of woman empowerment and right for a girl child to educate.
She belonged to a Parsi family in Devlali of Nashik, present-day Maharashtra. She had 8 siblings. two of them died during infancy. Her father, Reverend Sorabji Karsedji, was a missionary. Cornelia was born on 15 November 1866. Her father advocated for girl child education and he was a key figure to play an important role in admitting girls as students to Bombay University. Her mother Francina Sorabji was a well-known educator. Born into a family of progressive thinking, she was brought up in such an atmosphere, where girls’ rights were also given preference. Many of Sorabji's later educational and career decisions were greatly influenced by her mother, who was a prominent and influential figure of society then.
She spent her childhood initially in Belgaum and later in Pune. She studied at home and missionary schools. She became topper in the Bombay presidency at the final exams at Deccan College, which helped her to bag a scholarship to study in England. However she was denied the scholarship, and she started teaching profession. Later she became the first female graduate of Bombay University, and in 1988 she wrote to the National Indian Association for assistance in completing her education. It was finally approved and Sorabji arrived in England in 1889. She also completed Bachelor of Civil Laws exam at Somerville College, Oxford University, becoming the first woman to ever do so.
She returned to India in 1894, and continued fighting for her rights to do legal practice. She successfully completed LLB examination of Bombay University in 1897 and the pleader's examination of Allahabad High Court in 1899. Unfortunately she was not recognised as a barrister until the law which barred women from practising was changed in 1923. When the legal profession was opened to women in India, Sorabji began practising in Kolkata and retired from the high court in 1929. She then moved to London, and visited India occasionally. She died on 6 July 1954, aged 87. A bust of Cornelia Sorabji was unveiled at Lincoln's Inn, London in 2012.
Published: February 03, 2019
Updated: February 03, 2019
