India’s First Divorced Woman: Divorce has been around for decades in India. It has become commonplace even now. That is why the number of family courts is increasing year by year. But imagine 140 years ago. Did divorce exist even then? Everyone thinks that such a concept did not exist. Because 50-60 years ago, divorce was only heard of here and there in urban and metropolitan areas. It is difficult to imagine that it could have existed like this hundreds of years ago. But the interesting thing is that in 1885, a woman got a divorce from her husband. This was the first divorce obtained by a woman from her husband, that is, this was the first divorce case in India. However, the courage she showed laid a very strong foundation for the entire female community.
Here is its exciting story. Her name is Rukhmabai. At the age of 11, she was married to a 19-year-old boy named Dadaji Bhikaji. Later, Rukhmabai was keen on studying medicine. For this reason, she stayed at home with her stepfather and mother and continued her education. However, her husband did not like this and he insisted that she stay with him. But she did not agree. We know how today’s society views a woman who left her husband’s house and stayed in her mother’s house, how could it have been then? Everyone started scolding her that education had corrupted Rukhmabai.
Despite that, she stayed at her mother’s house and completed her education. When Rukhmabai grew up and became a little older, she decided to choose her married life. She refused to live with her husband. Dadaji Bhikaji filed a case against his wife. Rukhmabai argued that since she was married when she was young, she was not in a position to choose her husband. She could not stay away from her husband, so if she chose divorce, she would have to spend six months in jail. The court said that the choice was yours. He said, Rukhmabai, I do not want a husband, I will go to jail, so she was ready to spend six months in jail.
A courageous woman, she wrote for The Times of India under the pen name ‘A Hindu Lady’. She wrote about gender equality, social reforms, women’s rights and so on. When the court ruled in favor of Rukhmabai’s husband, her story came to the attention of Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria overturned the verdict against Rukhmabai and divorced her. Rukhmabai’s story spread like wildfire. It led to a huge movement against child marriage in India. It was a revolution for women’s rights.
This was a huge victory for Rukhmabai and many other women in the country. Because of her case, the debate on child marriage gained momentum and eventually the age of marriage was raised. Not only this, her story inspired many women to follow their hearts and not let the dictates of society rule their lives. After getting divorced, she decided to study at the London School of Medicine for Women. After returning to India for 35 years as the head of the Women’s Hospital in Surat, she became the first Indian woman doctor in Western medicine.
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