CORNELIA SORABJI: THE LADY WHO OPENED DOORS OF LAW FOR WOMEN

Cornelia Sorabji was the first woman to break number of stereotypes. She was also the first Indian national to study abroad, the first woman to graduate from Bombay University, and the first woman to study law at Oxford University.

Throughout her career, she advocated social reform, stood up for women's education, and raised her voice against the biasness they faced in the education system. Despite the circumstances in which she lived, Cornelia Sorabji never gave up on her journey to higher education, becoming India's first female lawyer.

Cornelia was the first woman to graduate from Bombay University. She then went on to earn a bachelor's degree in civil law from Somerville College, Oxford. She was the first female to be allowed to do so.

WHY EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT HER?

Cornelia Sorabji, born to Parsi’s parents on 15 November 1866, had eight siblings. Her parents had a lot of impact over her when she grew up. Sorabji’s father was a Christian missionary who was instrumental in encouraging Bombay University to accept women to university degrees. Her mother, on the other hand, is known to have set up a number of schools for girls, in Pune.

Cornelia was the first student to graduate from the University of Bombay. She earned a bachelor's degree in civil law from Somerville College, Oxford. She was the first woman to be permitted to do so. Sorabji has another first in her name — she was also the first woman to be admitted as a reader at the Cardington Library at All Souls University, Oxford.

WHAT MADE HER AN INSPIRATION?

Cornelia Sorabji has done a great deal of work for women in India, especially those belonging to marginalised groups. Cornelia returned to India in 1894. Then she practiced her advocacy for the rights of the purdahnashins – women who were forbidden to engage with men outside their homes. Sorabji could render an appeal on behalf of these citizens but was unable to bring their claims till the court of law. The general ban on women practising law in the Indian legal system prevented her from doing so.

Cornelia successfully completed her LLB examination at the University of Bombay and Pleader’s examination at the High Court of Allahabad. However, as a result of the patriarchal statute against women, she was not considered to be a prosecutor. She worked for many years as a legal advisor to women and children on matters in provincial courts, and as a ‘Lady Assistant’ to the Bengal Wards Court in 1904. In 1907; she worked in the regions of Bengal, Bihar, Orissa and Assam to represent women and minorities in regional courts.

Perhaps the biggest battles Sorabji had to fight were against the social patriarchy itself. She was the first woman lawyer to face the brunt of discrimination. Sorabji was not regarded as a lawyer until 1923, when the legislation that discriminated against women and prohibited them from practising was eventually amended. She also served without compensation through her effort to support economically ostracised societies.

During her twenty-year tenure, she supported an around 600 women and children wage court battles. Cornelia started to work in Kolkata in 1924. Nevertheless, owing to a predominantly patriarchal judicial structure, it was limited to the planning of claims and judgments on disputes in absentia. The authorities have not required her to argue cases in person before the trials. Some have not taken her job seriously. She had to contest even the ridiculous cases — the most trivial, maybe, was when she was called to defend an elephant against those who had destroyed her banana groves!

WHAT LESSON WE CAN TAKE FROM HER LIFE?

Despite becoming an Anglophone, Cornelia Sorabji supported India’s freedom from British control. This culminated in comparisons between women's rights and the capacity for self-government. Sorabji was also an ardent advocate of the reform of Hindu legislation. She was trying to eliminate of child marriage. Her work also aimed to raise widows, with the aim of putting an end to the cruelty they were subjected to.

CORNELIA SORABJI 'S LEGACY

Sorabji was a brave, ambitious woman who had resisted easy classification. Some find it a feminist who has paved the way for women in the field of law in India. However, although this is true, she was also opposed to the independence movement and Gandhi in the later part of her life. The complicated number, however, avoided the pages of history. Her history, however, has to be lived on. A woman with a multitude of achievements; a advocate of women's rights; and a woman who has changed the course of history by forever changing the philosophy to women's education and opening up the legal profession to women.

Later, she went on to write a book on her experiences, titled Between the Twilights. In 2012, a bronze statue of her was unveiled as a sign of respect at the Lincoln House, High Court Complex, in London. Google Doodle was also set up to mark her 151th birthday on 15 November, 2017. In 1929, after retirement Cornelia moved to London. Her legacy signifies courage, determination, and not giving up. She is one of those wonderful women who have taught us, how to make impossible things, possible in life.

I hope with all my knowledge, I was able to give justice to CORNELIA SORABJI’s work. As being a part of law profession, she will always remain an inspiration to me and everyone in future as well.

TILL THEN STAY SAFE MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY..!