Rukhmabai

Rukhmabai was an Indian, who, as a girl, was part of the court cases which lead to the passage of the Age of Consent Act, 1891 which outlawed child marriages across the British Empire. She later became a doctor.

Rukhmabai was formally married to her husband when she was 11 and he was 19.[1] She remained living with her parents for a number of years before being summoned to live with her husband. She initiated a court action to revoke the marriage.

After a series of court cases which resulted in the affirmation of the marriage, she wrote to Queen Victoria who overruled the court and dissolved the marriage.[2] The publicity helped influence the passage of the Age of Consent Act, 1891 which outlawed child marriages across the British Empire.[2]

From 1889-1894 she studied medicine at the London School of Medicine for Women and after becoming a doctor returned to India to lead a hospital in Poona.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Lahiri, Shompa (2013-10-18). Indians in Britain: Anglo-Indian Encounters, Race and Identity, 1880-1930. Routledge. pp. 13–. ISBN 9781135264468. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  2. 1 2 Rappaport, Helen (2003). Queen Victoria: A Biographical Companion. ABC-CLIO. pp. 429–. ISBN 9781851093557. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  3. ↑ Sorabji, Richard (2010-06-15). Opening Doors: The Untold Story of Cornelia Sorabji, Reformer, Lawyer and Champion of Women's Rights in India. Penguin Books India. pp. 32–. ISBN 9781848853751. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
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