July 30 : Dr Muthulakshmi Reddi

Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddi (born on 30 July 1886 Madras) was an eminent medical practitioner and social reformer .



Muthulakshmi had many firsts to her recognition. 

1. She was the first girl student to be admitted into a Men's College.

2. The first woman House Surgeon in the Government Maternity and Ophthalmic Hospital

3. The first woman legislator in British India, the first Chairperson of the State Social Welfare Advisory Board 

4. The first woman Deputy President of the Legislative Council and the first Alderwoman of the Madras Corporation Avvai home

Muthulakshmi was the first woman doctor in India. She had earlier been advised not to appear for the very difficult M.B and C.M. course but she had prevailed and shocked everyone by getting the 100 per cent result in surgery and most of the merit medals and prizes of that year. This was at a time when some professors did not even allow women to sit in their class. They would ask junior lecturers to take classes for girls separately. 

She later became active in the social arena and was the prime mover behind the legislation that abolished the system of dedicating young girls to temples (devadasi) and played a role in raising the minimum marriage age for women. 

She founded the Cancer Institute (WIA) in Madras and Avvai Home, the first institute in Madras to admit and educate poor and destitute girls with no caste bias. 

Muthulakshmi Reddy was the President of the All-India Women's Conference. She passed the Bill for the suppression of brothels and immoral trafficking in women and children. A home for rescued girls and women were opened through her efforts to provide shelter to women and girls rescued from brothels. Due to her efforts a hostel for Muslim girls was opened and scholarships were given for Harijan girls. She recommended to the Government that the minimum age for marriage be raised to at least 21 for boys and 16 for girls.

Muthulakshmi also started the Cancer Relief fund. This has now developed into an all-India institution combining therapy and research on cancer and attracting patients from all over India. She became the first Chairperson of the State Social Welfare Board. Her work on the Hartog Education Committee, which incorporated a study of educational progress in India, is a great achievement. As a member of the Hartog Committee she travelled extensively and studied the progress of women's education throughout the country. She was the only woman member of the committee and brought about many improvements. She was also the editor of Roshini, an important journal of AIWC.

Muthulakshmi Reddy, was appointed to the Madras Legislative Council in 1927. For her, this nomination marked the beginning of her lifelong effort to "correct the balance" for women by removing social abuses and working for equality in moral standards. She was one of the women pioneers who stood for the cause of liberating India from the British. She was a women activist and a social reformer too.