Today’s Google doodle is celebrating the 155th birth anniversary of Kamini Roy, the first woman to graduate with honors in the history of India, who went on to advocate for the rights of all women.
Born on October 12,1864 in the Bakerganj district of British India—now part of Bangladesh— poet and social reformer Roy was a leading Bengali poet and social worker.
During a time when women were expected to focus primarily on marriage, Kamini was determined to pursue education. In 1886, she graduated with a degree in Sanskrit from Bethune College, earning her B.A. with honors.
“Why should a woman be confined to home and denied her rightful place in society?” wrote Kamini Roy in 1924
In college, she met another student, Abala Bose, who went on to be known for her social work in women’s education and alleviating the condition of widows. Her friendship with Bose would inspire her interest in advocating for women’s rights.
After graduation, Kamini became a teacher at Bethune and published Alo O Chhaya, the first of her many books of poems, in 1889, according to Google. By forming organizations to champion causes she believed in, she helped advance feminism on the Indian subcontinent.
She also worked to help Bengali women win the right to vote in 1926. For her literary accomplishments, Kamini Roy was awarded the Jagattarini medal by Calcutta University in 1929.
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