Google dedicated a Doodle to Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddi, a surgeon, educator, lawmaker and social reformer, on her 133rd birth anniversary.
About:
Born in 1886 in Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu, Dr. Reddi devoted her life to public health and fought the battle against gender inequality. She passed away in 1968 at the age of 81.
Medical career:
She was the first Indian girl student in the Department of Surgery at Madras Medical College.
She became one of the first women doctors in India in 1912, and the first woman house surgeon in the Government Maternity Hospital, Madras.
In 1954, she opened the Cancer Institute in Chennai.
Political career:
She was the first woman member (and vice president) of the Madras Legislative Council, making her the first woman legislator in India.
She resigned from the Council to support the Salt Satyagraha.
Social reforms:
As member of Madras Legislative Council, she helped raise the minimum age for marriage for girls and pushed the Council to pass the Immoral Traffic Control Act, and the Devadasi system abolishment Bill.
In 1930, she established the Avvai Home to shelter and educate devadasi girls.
She co-founded the Women's Indian Association in 1918.
Honours:
In 1956 she was awarded the Padma Bhushan.
The Government of Tamil Nadu has recently announced that government hospitals in the State will celebrate her birth anniversary as ‘Hospital Day' every year.
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