prepare a character sketch on:
"Dr.RUKHAMABAI"
the first practicing lady doctor of india
Answers
Rukhmabai (22 November 1864 – 25 September 1955) was an Indian physician and feminist. She is best known for being one of the first practicing women doctors in colonial India as well as being involved in a landmark legal case involving her marriage as a child bride between 1884 and 1888. The case raised significant public debate across several topics, which most prominently included law vs tradition, social reform vs conservatism and feminism in both British-ruled India and England. This ultimately contributed to the Age of Consent Act in 1891.
Answer:
Rukhmabai was born in Bombay in 1864 to a woman who had herself suffered because of the custom of child marriage – she had married at the age of 14, given birth to Rukhmabai at 15, and become a widow at 17. Seven years later, Rukhmabai’s mother married Sakharam Arjun, a doctor and professor of botany at Mumbai’s Grant Medical College; he was a supporter of education and social reform in India.
Rukhmabai was born in Bombay in 1864 to a woman who had herself suffered because of the custom of child marriage – she had married at the age of 14, given birth to Rukhmabai at 15, and become a widow at 17. Seven years later, Rukhmabai’s mother married Sakharam Arjun, a doctor and professor of botany at Mumbai’s Grant Medical College; he was a supporter of education and social reform in India.Driven by social pressure, Rukhmabai’s mother married off 11-year-old Rukhmabai to Dadaji Bhikaji, then aged 19. In accordance with the prevailing customs, Rukhmabai did not live with her husband but stayed in her parents’ house in the years following her marriage. During this period, she diligently followed her stepfather’s instructions to educate herself, much against the norms of the time.
Rukhmabai was born in Bombay in 1864 to a woman who had herself suffered because of the custom of child marriage – she had married at the age of 14, given birth to Rukhmabai at 15, and become a widow at 17. Seven years later, Rukhmabai’s mother married Sakharam Arjun, a doctor and professor of botany at Mumbai’s Grant Medical College; he was a supporter of education and social reform in India.Driven by social pressure, Rukhmabai’s mother married off 11-year-old Rukhmabai to Dadaji Bhikaji, then aged 19. In accordance with the prevailing customs, Rukhmabai did not live with her husband but stayed in her parents’ house in the years following her marriage. During this period, she diligently followed her stepfather’s instructions to educate herself, much against the norms of the time.Soon, Rukhmabai found out that her husband was a man of questionable character with an aversion for education. In contrast to Dadaji’s waywardness, Rukhmabai had evolved during the same years into an intelligent and cultured young woman. Terrified at the prospect of living in a claustrophobic relationship, she decided she did not want to remain married to such a man.
Rukhmabai was born in Bombay in 1864 to a woman who had herself suffered because of the custom of child marriage – she had married at the age of 14, given birth to Rukhmabai at 15, and become a widow at 17. Seven years later, Rukhmabai’s mother married Sakharam Arjun, a doctor and professor of botany at Mumbai’s Grant Medical College; he was a supporter of education and social reform in India.Driven by social pressure, Rukhmabai’s mother married off 11-year-old Rukhmabai to Dadaji Bhikaji, then aged 19. In accordance with the prevailing customs, Rukhmabai did not live with her husband but stayed in her parents’ house in the years following her marriage. During this period, she diligently followed her stepfather’s instructions to educate herself, much against the norms of the time.Soon, Rukhmabai found out that her husband was a man of questionable character with an aversion for education. In contrast to Dadaji’s waywardness, Rukhmabai had evolved during the same years into an intelligent and cultured young woman. Terrified at the prospect of living in a claustrophobic relationship, she decided she did not want to remain married to such a man.Rukhmabai was still studying in school when her husband Dadaji Bhikaji demanded in March 1884 that she come and live with him. She refused, and Dadaji petitioned the Bombay High Court for restitution of conjugal rights of a husband over his wife. In simple terms, he wanted the court to direct his wife Rukhmabai to move into his house and live with him.