Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy: first woman legislator, doctor, reformer

Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy (1886, 1968) was India's first woman legislator and first woman house surgeon at a government hospital. Born in Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu, she became the first female student at Maharaja's College, then the first woman admitted to Madras Medical College, graduating with a gold medal in 1907.

As the first woman deputy president of the Madras Legislative Council and first woman in the Madras Corporation, she used her authority to win property rights for women, laws against child marriage, and protections for children. She also campaigned against the devadasi system and advocated for women's education, fee exemptions, scholarships, hostels, and better sanitation in poor neighbourhoods.

She founded Avvai Home and Orphanage for girls and women, and the Adyar Cancer Institute in Chennai. In 1956 she received the Padma Bhushan. Her legacy continues through the institutions and reforms she established.