Rukhmabai

From overcoming stupendous trials to inscribing her name in the annals of women’s liberation, Rukhmabai’s journey is marked by a quiet, unyielding strength. Denied formal education and wedded off at eleven years of age to a nineteen-year-old wastrel named Dadaji Bhikaji, Rukhmabai refused to live with him and was dragged into a vexatious legal suit for the ‘restitution of conjugal rights’. The suit set off a huge social and political debate of far-reaching importance. Coverage of her historic defiance in both British and Indian media established her as a salient figure of global feminism and, along with the backing of notable reformers, soon paved the way for her move to the United Kingdom to study medicine.