Strong Women Of India: Rukhmabai Raut

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[{"type":"txt","id":"rich_1511341055944","data":" Google has been hitting it out of the park lately with their doodles, focused around some of pre-independence India's strongest women like Anasuya Sarabhai. Today, November 22, is the 153rd birth anniversary of another such strong woman named Rukhmabai Raut, who not only was the first practising female Doctor in India, but also a revolutionary in her own right who did not back down from any fight for every inch of her life she had to reclaim. <\/p>The story goes something like this: much like Anasuya, Rukhmabai was married off at a very young age, when she was 11-years old, to a man 8-years her senior. However, Rukhmabai refused to live with her husband, choosing instead to finish her education, a choice that she made for herself even at the tender age of 11. Today, 11-year old kids are busy beating their younger siblings to grab the smartphone and decide what YouTube video to watch. <\/p>As she became older and a legal adult in the eyes of the law, Rukhmabai came into a lot of wealth from her family, which her husband knew of and wanted to claim for himself. She was his wife, he reasoned, she owed him her wealth by the virtue of marriage alone. Except, this only served to anger Rukhmabai and resist, prompting her husband to file a case in the court to restitute the conjugal rights. So confident and angry Rukhmabai was that she took the system head on, arguing that since she was married off at the age of 11, the marriage was not legal therefore she did not have to listen to him or even acknowledge his existence. <\/p>Justice Robert Hill Piney sided with Raut's case and passed a judgement which was extremely controversial at the time, stating that Raut could choose what she wanted to do. This was seen as an attack on the Hindu way of life, and I want my sisters to remember this because everything that goes against the norm will be seen as against culture, but that does not mean it is not right. <\/p>"},{"type":"img","id":"img-uid-1511351875187","data":"5a156a7250009"},{"type":"txt","id":"rich_1511351877921","data":"Jail over marriage: <\/b> <\/p>The problem with institutionalised sexism is that it will come back to haunt you every day. Soon, the case against her was reopened and she was given two choices, either live with her husband or spend 6 months in jail. Rukhmabai did not even hesitate to say that she would rather choose jail than to live with her husband. During this period, however, Raut had written a series of articles in various newspapers as an anonymous journalist, adopting the pseudonym 'A Hindu Lady.' The fire in the articles inspired many a person to discuss it over tea and under trees. It became the talk of the town and was a precursor to Raut's influence over Europe. <\/p>After the verdict, Raut sought out Queen Victoria who - in return for Rs. 2000 to Raut's husband - nullified the marriage and overruled the court personally. Raut was a free woman now, who then went on to study in England, choosing medicine. <\/p>The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: <\/b><\/p>Word of Raut's bravery spread through word of mouth and an article here and there throughout the British empire and Europe. She was seen as a hero who stood up against her oppressors and made the empire re-examine their stand on child marriages. In 1891, the tales of her verdict inspired the Empire to pass the Age of Consent law, which made child marriages illegal. <\/p>She then went on to study medicine at the London School of Medicine for Women between 1889 to 1894, when she returned to Surat and served as the Chief Medical Officer of a hospital till 1930. She saw India gain it's independence and breathed her last in 1955. <\/p>To women like us, she will forever be an inspiration, so remember my sisters, never ever back down. <\/p>"}]

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