Kadambini Ganguly was one of India's earliest female doctors and a prominent women's rights advocate and social reformer (1861-1923).
Kadambini was born on July 18, 1861, in Bhagalpur, which is now in Bihar. She was born to a father, Braja Kishore Basu, who was supportive of women's education.
In 1883, along with another female scholar, Chandramukhi Basu, Kadambini became one of the first women graduates of the University of Calcutta.
Later, she joined Calcutta Medical College and became its first female student. She completed her medical degree in 1886.
Kadambini Ganguly traveled to England in 1892 to further pursue her studies in medicine. She obtained several medical degrees from schools in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Upon return to India, she practiced medicine in Lady Dufferin Hospital in Calcutta and then founded her own practice. She specialized in treating women's diseases and often treated members of the Nepalese royal family.
Kadambini Ganguly dedicated much time to women's education and rights advocacy. She was an early women delegate of the Indian National Congress and the first woman to deliver a speech in a congress session. She supported the Age of Consent Act of 1891 and promoted the welfare of women laborers.
She was married to Dwarkanath Ganguly, who was a social reformer promoting women's education.
By breaking many barriers at times when females had very few educational and career opportunities, Kadambini Ganguly proved that women can have higher education, medical practice, and participation in social life. Kadambini Ganguly died in Calcutta on October 3, 1923, at the age of 62.
