Anandabai Joshi
The first Indian woman physician trained in Western medicine, breaking barriers for women and marginalized communities in healthcare
Anandabai Joshi (1865-1887) was a pioneering Indian physician and social reformer who became the first woman from India to study medicine in the United States. Born into a progressive Brahmin family in Maharashtra, she defied societal norms by receiving an education at a time when girls' schooling was rare. At age 14, she married a 20-year-old widower named Gopalrao Joshi, who supported her academic ambitions despite facing financial hardships. After losing her first child due to lack of proper medical care, she resolved to become a doctor to serve India's women and children.
In 1883, with help from reformers like Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade, she secured admission to Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania (now Drexel University College of Medicine). She faced extreme homesickness, financial struggles, and cultural isolation while studying in the US, but graduated with an MD in 1886 - the youngest graduate that year. Her commencement address at the College of Physicians in Philadelphia made headlines internationally, emphasizing her mission to 'raise my people to a higher plane of thought and action.'
Returning to India, she established the India's first indigenous women's hospital in Kolhapur, advocating for women's healthcare access and education. Though her life was tragically cut short by tuberculosis at 21, her legacy lives on through institutions like the Anandibai Joshi Government Medical College in Maharashtra. Modern tributes include a Google Doodle (2016) and a NASA asteroid named 6502 Anandabaijoshi. Her story highlights intersectional struggles against gender, caste, and colonial limitations.
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Cinematic Appearances
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