Snippets of Information
Achievements - Science / Medicine
* 1 Jan 2026
First indian woman doctor - Dr. Anandibai Joshi (1865 - 1887)
Image Source: Zee News
Dr. Anandibai Joshi was the first Indian female physician to complete
her studies in Western medicine at the Women's Medical College of
Pennsylvania. A pioneer in medicine, she was a trailblazing Indian
woman, who had faced many hurdles during her quest for education. In her
short span of life, she faced a lot of emotional, mental, physical, and
social turbulence and had to prove herself at every step to the
orthodox patriarchal Indian society the need to study medicine. As
childhood marriage was a common practice in India during the 19th
century, Anandibai was married to Gopalrao Joshi when she was only 9
years old, who renamed her "Anandi." With an encouraging father during
her childhood and a supportive husband after marriage, she could pave
the way for herself in the orthodox Indian society, dominated by males.
When she was 14 years old she delivered a baby boy who could not survive beyond 10 days due to
lack of medical care. This was the turning point in her life, and she
was determined to become a physician so that the other women would not
suffer the way she had.
Strongly supporting his wife, Gopalrao wrote a letter to Royal Wilder,
an American missionary, to help Anandibai Joshi study medicine in the
United States. Wilder published the letter in Princeton's Missionary
Review. This letter was read by Theodicia Carpenter, a resident of
Roselle, New Jersey, who was thoroughly impressed by Anandibai's
interest to pursue medicine and her husband's support for her to do the
same. For nearly two years, Theodicia and Anandibai exchanged their
views regarding religion, social, and cultural differences between the
two countries. During this period, Anandibai gained confidence in
self-expression in English. Theodicia was instrumental in convincing
Wilder, and Anandibai was lucky to get a chance to study medicine at the
Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMCP), Philadelphia.
Dr. Anandibai's thesis titled "Obstetrics among Aryan Hindus" included
references from ancient Indian texts as well as from American medical
literature. She also received a letter from Queen Vitoria, the Empress
of India, congratulating her in recognition of the medical degree she received at the age of 19. Dr.
Anandibai Joshi returned to her home country where she was given a
warm-hearted welcome and greatly appreciated for her accomplishments in
1886.
She had been appointed as the physician-in-charge and was given
the responsibility of Edward Albert Memorial Hospital in Kolhapur.
However, she succumbed to tuberculosis at an early age on February 26,
1887, before becoming 22 years old. Despite her short life, Dr.
Anandibai Joshi inspired women throughout the country and is a pioneer
in Indian healthcare.
The Institute of Research and Documentation in Social Sciences (IRDS)
named the Anandibai Joshi Award for Medicine in honor of her significant
contribution. The Government of Maharashtra has a fellowship program in
her name to honor young females working on women's health.
Source: pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
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