Dr. Babita Mahajan
Gender equality has been one of the most debated topics in the past decade. Though most of us agree that women deserve equal rights and opportunities as men, yet there are many challenges that a woman has to face regularly. If we examine deeper in the pages of history, we’ll see that contribution of women in the field of science, arts, sports and finance has been as worthy as men but somehow their contributions are not much talked about or has been forgotten with time.

International Day of Women and Girls in Science

When asked to name a scientist, we immediately think of Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, CV Raman or APJ Abdul Kalam. When specifically asked to name a female scientist, Marie Curie is at the tip of our tongues but when we are asked for the name of an Indian woman scientist, we most often draw a blank. The problem is not that there aren’t enough women in the field of science in India, but that they are not well recognized and not credited for their accomplishments. Here are some female Indian scientists who we ought to be proud of.
Anandibai Gopalrao Joshi
Anandibai was one of the first Indian female physicians. She was the first female of Indian origin to study and graduate with a degree in medicine in the United States. She is also believed to be the first woman to have set foot on American soil from India. Born into a typical Brahmin family of the 1880s, Anandibai was married at the young age of 8. At the age of 14, she became pregnant and gave birth to a boy, who couldn’t live too long due to unavailability of proper medical assistance. This proved to be a turning point in her life as she decided to help others by becoming a physician. She was supported in her journey by husband Gopalrao Joshi, who always encouraged her to get educated and help the society. She graduated with an MD on 11 March 1886 and the topic of her thesis was ‘Obstetrics among the Aryan Hindoos’. On her graduation, Queen Victoria sent her a congratulatory message. She died one year after she returned to India having completed her education in New York because of poor health and tuberculosis.
In a time when a women’s position was not even considered in the society and their education was unthinkable, Anandi took a bold step to fight and go against the flow to become a doctor. This was possible because of a big supporting hand from her husband Gopalrao who never let her quit and always inspired her to do more. When some parts of India still deal with unsupportive husbands and a society that thinks a woman’s place is inside the house, the story of the couple is a fresh change. We don’t know if Gopalrao was too harsh on his wife and whether his obsession was justified. All we can say is his support for women’s education and their empowerment was remarkable for the time he lived in. Though she could not convert her degree into a successful profession due to her untimely death, Anandibai surely left a mark on India’s heart and contributed to a much better, and bolder, India.
Kamala Sohonie
Kamala Sohoni was born on September 14th, 1912 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Her father Narayanrao and uncle Madhavrao were distinguished chemists. They were among the first to graduate from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore. In 1933, Kamala completed her first degree, a Bachelor of Science in physics and chemistry from Bombay University (now The University of Mumbai). She graduated as a university topper and thus believed she would easily gain admission to IISc Bangalore. However, she instead faced blatant gender-based discrimination.
Physicist and Nobel Laureate, C.V. Raman who established the Indian Institute of Science, and the Raman Research Institute (RRI), was the impediment to Dr Sohonie’s entrance to the IISc. She applied to IISc in 1933, but despite her clear competence, Raman dismissed her application on the grounds that she was a woman. He was adamantly against admitting women students to his institutions on the grounds that she would be a distraction in the laboratory!
Kamala Sohonie did Satyagraha in Raman’s office till she was admitted but on the terms that she would be on probation for a year. She could work, but that it wouldn’t be recognized until Raman was satisfied with its quality. Additionally, and frankly repulsively, he stipulated that she not be a distraction to male researchers and thus divert them from their work. Dr. Sohonie accepted, but certainly not without indignation. She would later recount: “Though Raman was a great scientist, he was very narrow-minded. I can never forget the way he treated me just because I was a woman. Even then, Raman didn’t admit me as a regular student. This was a great insult to me. The bias against women was so bad at that time. What can one expect if even a Nobel Laureate behaves in such a way?”
Satisfied with her work a year later, he ended the probationary period and allowed Sohonie to do regular biochemical research. That year was also a landmark as Raman began allowing women into IISc. During Dr Sohonie’s graduate work, she studied proteins in milk, pulses and legumes, and was the first to work on pulse proteins which had significant implications for the malnourished in India. She subsequently completed and received her MSc in 1936. Her exceptional work then enabled and led her to pursue her PhD at Cambridge University.
It is rightly quoted by Marguerite Rawalt: “The world needs scientists, engineers – and if a brain is qualified to do such work, it should be encouraged, not smothered because it is a female brain.”
(The author is Assistant Professor, G.G.M Science College)
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