First Indian Woman Medical Practitioner, Politician, Writer and Woman Activist.
Birth
Muthulakshmi Reddy was born on 30th July 1886 to College Principal Narayanaswami Iyer and Chandrammal in Pudukottai in Madras Presidency. Her father was the Principal of Maharaja’s College.
School life and College
Muthulakshmi Reddy did her schooling in the Maharaja’s High School in Pudukkottai. In 1907, she got admission in the Madras Medical College in the Department of Surgery and completed her degree in 1912.
Personal Life
Muthulakshmi Reddy married Sundara Reddy. They had two sons S.Krishnamurthi and S.Rammohan.
Muthulakshmi Reddy Life Career
In 1912, she became the first woman House Surgeon in the Government Maternity and Ophthalmic Hospital in Madras. Later she went to pursue her higher education in London. While she was twenty-eight years old in 1914, she married as per the 1872 Native Marriage Act. In 1927, Muthulakshmi Reddy was elected for the Vice-President post and became the first woman member of the Indian Legislative Council.
In 1930, Muthulakshmi Reddy gave her resignation to the Legislative Council, as a protest against the Mahatma Gandhi’s arrest during the Salt March. After that, in the mid 1930s, she started the Avvai Home in Vepery. She was the first person to give the recommendation to the Government to increase the age of the marriage to 16 for girls and 21 for boys.
She went throughout the country as a part of her work with the Hartog Education to analyze the growth in women’s education. In that committee, she was the only woman. Muthulakshmi Reddy started the Cancer Relief Fund which is now grown as the All-India Institution with Research and therapy. In 1935, she announced her wish to begin a hospital for Cancer Patients. Then she laid the foundation stone for the Cancer Institute in Adyar in 1952. On 18th June 1954, this hospital came to function. Now, this Adyar Cancer Institute is the world famous institute that gives treatment to nearly 80,000 Cancer Patients every year. In 1930, she wrote a book “My Experience as a Legislator”. She only suggested the regular medical inspection of students in all the colleges and schools that were run by the Governmental and the Non-Governmental sectors. The Kasturba Hospital in Chennai Triplicane is the monument for her efforts.
Who was the inspiration for Muthulakshmi Reddy?
Muthulakshmi Reddy was influenced by the two great leaders Mahatma Gandhi and Annie Besant. They gave her the motivation to dedicate herself for the welfare of women and children. She gave her work contribution to the women who were deprived of freedom and rights, since most of the women were ill-treated in those days. She met Sarojini Naidu when she was in the College, and began to take part in the Women meetings. Many women had met Muthulakshmi Reddy to share their problems.
Muthulakshmi Reddy as a Social Activist
After Muthulakshmi went to England, she left practicing the medicine as per the Women’s Indian Association request to get into the Madras Legislative Council. She was elected as Deputy President. She headed the struggle for the legislative and municipal rights for women. For the poor and orphan girls, she started the Avvai Home in Chennai in 1931. With this home, she gave free lodging and boarding to those girls.
She had been the author for many social reforms. The Government had opened a Children’s section in the Maternity Hospital only after Muthulakshmi gave a resolution to open a hospital for women and children. She passed the bill against the trafficking and brothel enslaving of women and children. She opened a home to give the shelter for brothel rescued women and girls. A separate hostel was opened for Muslim girls due to her effort and scholarships were given to the Harijan girls.
Muthulakshmi Reddy was the only female member in the Hartog Education Committee who made many changes to cause the improvement. She had been the editor of the “Roshini”, a journal of AIWC. She was fighting for her cause until the day of her death, without allowing any obstacle to her work. Muthulakshmi Reddy’s humanity held her in the mission and Gandhian ways, keeping her away from the Politics. She was more active and brisk even at the age of 80.
Other works of Muthulakshmi Reddy
Muthulakshmi Reddy played a key role in abolishing the Devadasi system and increasing the minimum age of marriage for the women. She led the argument to remove the Devadasi system against the opposition from the Congress Party led by the Dheerar Sathyamoorthy that was present in Tamil Nadu in olden days. Muthulakshmi Reddy was the founder of the Women’s Indian Association. She became the first woman to be elected to the City council. In slum areas, she took the responsibility to set up the toilets and separate women’s toilets so as to provide the medical facilities .
Avvai Home of Muthulakshmi Reddy
Her Avvai Home & Orphanage in Adyar Chennai serves as the home to the orphan girls even today. This home gives protection to the girls, disregarding their social status and caste. She had an aim of giving the economic freedom and enfranchisement to the women to lead their life with self-respect and safety.
Adyar Cancer Institute
The Adyar Cancer Institute began by Muthulakshmi Reddy serves as the non-profit cancer research and treatment center in Tamil Nadu from 1954 to till today. After the declaration made by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, this Institute had become the Regional cancer Centre and Centre of Excellence from 1974. This Institute is the first medical school in India to give various oncology degrees.
Award and Honor
In 1956, she won the Padma Bhusan award from the Government of India. The Government of India declared the Hospital Day on 30th July on Muthulakshmi’s birthday to honor her.
Death
Muthulakshmi Reddy died on 22nd July 1968 at the age of 81.