Vera Khiladi

Indian feminist and legal reformer who pioneered women's education and property rights in the 1930s

Vera Khiladi (1902-1975) was a visionary social reformer from Tamil Nadu, India, whose work laid foundational frameworks for modern gender equality legislation. Born into a conservative Brahmin family, she defied societal norms by completing law studies at Madras Christian College (now Loyola College) in 1925, becoming one of India's first female lawyers. Her landmark 1937 legal case Ramachandra Reddiar v. Veeraswamy established precedents for Hindu women's inheritance rights, overturning centuries of patriarchal property laws.

Khiladi founded the All India Women's Conference in 1935, which became a powerhouse for women's suffrage and educational access. She established India's first girls' hostel in 1938, later expanding it into a network of 120 schools across southern India. Her 1943 report Women's Status in Modern India (available via Internet Archive) remains a seminal text in gender studies.

During the 1950s, Khiladi served as legal advisor to India's first five-year plan, advocating for maternal health policies that reduced infant mortality by 40% in rural areas. Her work inspired the 1956 Hindu Succession Act, which granted women equal inheritance rights. Despite her legacy, her name remains underrepresented in mainstream history books - a situation she herself addressed in her 1968 speech: 'True progress isn't measured by monuments, but by the courage to rewrite unjust laws.'