Earlier this month, Sophia was honoured with a blue plaque outside one of her homes in Britain for the leading role she played in the British suffrage movement. In India, her role in influencing the movement for women’s voting rights remains largely forgotten.
As we head into the 62nd year of Maharashtra's formation, I wish every Maharashtrian strength and perseverance. The story of our genesis and growth hold values which are becoming increasingly important in these times.
BBC News
By By Parinaz Madan & Dinyar Patel
Mumbai
image captionLam (left) was the sheriff of Bombay, the first female sheriff in India
Amid the pandemic gloom, it is easy to forget that the year 2020 marks an important anniversary for women s rights.
In the US, it has been 100 years since women cast their votes for the first time. A century ago in the United Kingdom, the first female law students were admitted to the Inns of Court.
At Lincoln s Inn in London, one of those students, Mithan Lam, was an Indian. In 1924, she became the first woman to be allowed to practise law in the Bombay High Court, shattering one of the thickest glass ceilings for professional women in the country.