Rukhmabai Biography 
Rukhmabai was an Indian physician and feminist who lived during the period, 22 November 1864 - 25 September 1955. She was one of the early female doctors from India and she practised during British rule in the country. Her name was involved in a landmark legal case involving her marriage as a child bride between 1884 and 1888. After the series of court cases which resulted in the affirmation of the marriage, she appealed to Queen Victoria. The case was overruled and the marriage was dissolved. Rukhmabai was the second woman to both receive a medical degree and practice medicine.
Rukhmabai was born to Janardhan Pandurang and Jayantibai in Maharashtra. She lost her father at the age of 2, and later her mother remarried a social reformer and physician, Dr Sakharam Arjun who was a widower and father of three sons from first marriage. The couple belonged to carpenter caste, which allowed remarriage of widows. At the age of 11, Rukhmabai was married to the 19 year old Dadaji Bhikaji, a cousin of her step-father. Then Dadaji agreed to stay with his wife and in-laws in her house so that he can he acquire education. But when Rukhmabai attained puberty six months later, the traditional event of consummation of marriage was conducted. As Dr Sakharam Arjun was well aware that it was an unhealthy practice, he did not permit early consummation.
She refused to move in to the household of Dhurmaji to live with Bhikaji, and her stepfather supported her decision. In 1884, Bhikaji sent a legal notice to Sakharam Arjun. In 1885, the case came up for hearing and the judgement was passed by Justice Robert Hill Pinhey. After the series of court cases and affirmations, she appealed to Queen Victoria who overruled the court and dissolved the marriage. In 1894, she received her Doctor of Medicine from the London School of Medicine for Women.
Published: January 10, 2019
Updated: January 10, 2019
