Cornelia Sorabji’s 151st Birthday

Google Dooles 14.11.2017 21:02  Date: November 15, 2017 Today we celebrate Cornelia Sorabji, who overcame numerous obstacles to become India’s first female lawyer. Sorabji was the first woman permitted to attend Bombay University, where she excelled. She then went on to become the first Indian woman to study law at Oxford University in 1892. However, women were not awarded degrees by Oxford in those days , making her unable to practice law in England. Sorabji returned to India in 1894 where she was again barred from practicing her profession. However, this didn’t deter her. She eventually became legal advisor to the government for the purdahnashins — veiled women forbidden by social custom from communicating with males from the outside world. When widowed, these women were often entitled to their husbands' estates, but their isolation prevented them from seeking legal help to enforce their rights . Sorabji tirelessly fought for the rights of the purdahnashins and even earned them the right to be trained in nursing, which gave them the opportunity to work outside their homes. Today’s Doodle by illustrator depicts Sorabji in front of the Allahabad High Court, to which she was eventually admitted. On what would have been her 151st birthday, we celebrate Cornelia Sorabji for breaking that first glass ceiling and for her persistence in the face of great adversity. Early drafts and concepts of the Doodle below Location: Tags: