Cornelia Sorabji, India's first woman lawyer, is today's Google Doodle. She was born on November 15, 1886. Today is her 151st birth anniversary. She broke into a man's world and has many notable firsts to her credit. She was the first woman to graduate from Bombay University, the first woman to study law at Oxford University, the first woman lawyer in India, and also the first woman to practise law in India and Britain. A tweet by Google India honouring Cornelia Sorabji read: "Her vision and grit let her carve her own path towards justice. Celebrating India's first female lawyer, Cornelia Sorabji, on her 151st birth anniversary."
She has so many achievements to her name, but they did not come easy. As a woman she had to endure a lot to break into law practice - which was a male bastion. Her struggled helped in opening doors for many women to follow suit.
Here are some of the anecdotes from Cornelia Sorabji's life that show her perseverance and not losing sight of her goal:
2. Life at Oxford too was not easy for Cornelia Sorabji as being the first woman to study law in that University came with its own set of challenges. She was bullied by other men who were not used to female presence around them and they reportedly used to slam the door in her face so that she would miss her lectures.
4. Cornelia Sorabji worked in a London firm for a year, but to study in Lincoln's Inn library was barred for women. She had to get special permissions just so that she could be allowed to read there.
6. While she could not practice in Bombay presidency, the royals welcomed her to fight cases, but being a woman, she was only given unimportant cases.
7. Cornelia Sorabji did not relent and continued to petition the India Office to provide for a female legal advisor to represent women and minors in provincial courts.
9. Her fight to have women representation in law finally paid off in 1924 when the legal profession was opened to women in India. Cornelia Sorabji began to practice in Kolkata, hence becoming the first woman to practice law in India, and in Britain.
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