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1. who overcame numerous obstacles to become India’s first female lawyer.
Kiran varma - indianlawinfo.com

2. Contents
● Early life and education
● Legal career
● Social and reform work
● Bibliography
● Achievements
Kiran varma - indianlawinfo.com

3. Early life and education
Born in Devlali to a Parsi, she is the nine child. Her father, Reverend Sorabji
Karsedji, was a missionary and Sorabji claims that he was a key figure in
convincing Bombay University to admit women to their degree programs.
She enrolled in Deccan College, and claims to have topped the Presidency in her
final degree examination.
After becoming the first female graduate of Bombay University, Sorabji wrote in
1888 to the National Indian Association for assistance in completing her
education.
In 1892, she was given special permission by Congregational Decree, due in large
part to the petitions of her English friends, to take the Bachelor of Civil Laws exam
at Somerville College, Oxford, becoming the first woman to ever.
Kiran varma - indianlawinfo.com

4. Legal career
● Sorabji began petitioning the India Office as early as 1902 to provide for a
female legal advisor to represent women and minors in provincial courts.
● In 1904, she was appointed Lady Assistant to the Court of Wards of Bengal
and by 1907, due to the need for such representation, Sorabji was working in
the provinces of Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, and Assam.
● In the next 20 years of service, it is estimated that Sorabji helped over 600
women and orphans fight legal battles, sometimes at no charge.
Kiran varma - indianlawinfo.com

5. Social and reform work
● Sorabji was involved in social reforms. She was associated with the Bengal
branch of the National Council for Women in India, the Federation of
lUniversity Women, and the Bengal League of Social Service for Women.
● For her services to the Indian nation, she was awarded the Kaisar-i-Hind Gold
Medal in 1909.
● Early in her career, Sorabji had supported the campaign for Indian
Independence, relating women's rights to the capacity for self-government.
Kiran varma - indianlawinfo.com

6. Bibliography
● 1901: Love and Life Beyond the Purdah a short stories concerning life in the
zenana (women's domestic quarters), as well as other aspects of life in India
under colonial rule.
● 1904: Sun-Babies: studies in the child-life of India (London: John Murray)
● 1916: Indian Tales of the Great Ones Among Men, Women and Bird-People
(Bombay: Blackie) (legends and folk tales).
● 1932: Susie Sorabji, Christian-Parsee Educationist of Western India: A
Memoir (London: Oxford University Press) (a biography of her educationist
sister, Susie Sorabji).
Kiran varma - indianlawinfo.com

7. Achievements
● The first Indian national to study at any British university.
● The first female advocate in India.
● The first woman to practice law in India and Britain.
● For her services to the Indian nation, she was awarded the Kaisar-i-Hind Gold
Medal in 1909.
● The Indian nation, she was awarded the Kaisar-i-Hind Gold Medal in 1909
For Her Services.
Kiran varma - indianlawinfo.com

8. The First Indian Women
Who Made it Happen to
Law
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Kiran varma - indianlawinfo.com