5 interesting facts about Rukhmabhai Raut, the incredible woman of India

Parul Srivastava November 22, 2017

595 1 minute read

Google Doodle is celebrating Rukhmabhai Raut’s 153rd Birthday

Today, Google is celebrating Rukhmabhai Raut’s 153rd birth anniversary, the first Indian woman physician with a doodle. The Google Doodle which has been illustrated by Shreya Gupta shows the courageous doctor among her patients, doing the dedicated work of a skilled physician.

Notably, Rukhmabhai has another feather in her cap. She was the one who refused to recognize her marriage and the case filed by her husband thereafter, and that’s why women of modern India today can now assert their rights of consent.

Here are five interesting things you should know about her:

She was born on November 22, 1864 in Bombay and she was the only daughter of her parents. She lost her father when she was eight years old.
She got married at age of 11 to Dadaji Bhikaji. Her mother later married Sakharam Arjun , an eminent physician and the founding member of Bombay Natural History Society.
She was a courageous lady and she refused to move in with her husband. She stated that a woman cannot be compelled to stay in wedlock if she is not interested. Her husband went on to file a case that went on for three years triggered a debate both in England and India.
Finally, the verdict went in the favour of Dadaji. The court ordered Rukhmabhai to live in with her husband or face six months imprisonment; the brave lady chose the latter.
The verdict was overruled by Queen Victoria, and then came the Age of Consent Act, 1891.
In 1888, she moved to England to study medicine. She returned India in 1894 and practiced in Surat, Rajkot, and Bombay for next 35 years.
She passed away on September 25, 1955.

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