Two history graduates discuss the life of Cornelia Sorabji.
Cornelia Sorabji (1866- 1954) was the first female Indian lawyer, and the first Indian to attend Oxford University to study law in 1889. She was a ground-breaking Indian lawyer who advocated for women, fighting against purdah and helping purdahnashins (women who were not permitted to consult male lawyers). Her father was a Reverend, and her mother was an educator who founded a school for girls and ran a teaching programme. Throughout her life she fought for the rights of women, however her achievements have been hidden from history due to her colonialist loyalties to the British Empire, her criticisms of Gandhi, and her nuanced take on Katherine Mayo's book Mother India , all of which was used against her. Over 20 years of legal campaigning, Cornelia fought legal battles for over 600 women and children.

Presented by: Bridget Lindh and Samira Nicholson
Intro music: stantough - www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNm3Ggv01Ns
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Sources
Rejected Princesses – https://www.rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/cornelia-sorabji 

MaryJane Mossman (2020), ‘Cornelia Sorabji (1866–1954): a pioneer woman lawyer in Britain and India,’ Women's History Review, vol.29 no.4, pp.737-747, DOI:10.1080/09612025.2019.1702791

The Inner Temple – Women in Law - Pioneering Women in Law – Cornelia Sorabji, by Professor Emerita Mary Jane Mossman; https://www.innertemple.org.uk/women-in-law/pioneering-women-in-law/cornelia-sorabji/ 

 ‘Cornelia Sorabji: Woman of many accomplishments’, by K S S Seshan, The Hindu (17/01/2020) https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/the-hindu-friday-review-telangana/article30586015.ece