Essay on Dr. Anandibai Joshi

 Introduction

Dr. Anandibai Gopalrao Joshi (31 March 1865  –  26 February 1887) was the first Indian female doctor of western medicine. She was the first woman from the erstwhile Bombay presidency of India to study and graduate with a two-year degree in western medicine in the United States. She was also referred to as Anandibai Joshi and Anandi Gopal Joshi (where Gopal came from Gopalrao, her husband's first name). 

Early Life

Originally named Yamuna, Joshi was born, raised in a Marathi Chitpavan Brahmin family. As was the practice at that time and due to pressure from her mother, she was married at the age of nine to Gopalrao Joshi, a widower almost twenty years her senior. After marriage, Yamuna's husband renamed her 'Anandi'. Gopalrao Joshi worked as a postal clerk in Kalyan. Later, he was transferred to Alibag, and then, finally, to Kolhapoor (Kolhapur). He was a progressive thinker, and, unusually for that time, supported education for women. She was also a relative of Pandita Ramabai.