Anandibai Joshi

The first Indian woman to study medicine in the United States, breaking caste and gender barriers in 19th-century India.

Anandibai Gopalrao Joshi (1865–1887) became India’s first female physician when she graduated from Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania (now Drexel University College of Medicine) in 1886. Born into a Brahmin family in Maharashtra, her early marriage at age nine and loss of her infant son drove her to pursue medical training. Despite societal opposition, her husband Gopalrao Joshi supported her endeavors. She delivered a landmark speech at the Philadelphia graduation ceremony, stating: “I trust that I am the first of many Indian women who will graduate from your noble institution.”

Joshi’s campaign to raise funds in America through lectures and letters demonstrated early feminist networking. She returned to India to establish the Albert Edward Hospital for Women in Kolhapur, though her career was cut short by tuberculosis at age 21. Her legacy endures through initiatives like the Anandibai Joshi Medical College and her inclusion in India’s #SheIs50 campaign. Historians note her role in challenging both British colonial attitudes and traditional Indian gender norms, inspiring later activists like Savitribai Phule. Her writings in Prabha newspaper highlighted education’s transformative power for women.