Anandibai Gopalrao Joshi (Marathi: आनंदीबाई गोपाळराव जोशी; 31 March 1865 – 26 February 1887) was the first certified Indian female doctor of western medicine while Kadambini Ganguly was the first Indian female doctor who actually practiced.
Anandibai travelled to New York from Kolkata (Calcutta) by ship, chaperoned by two female English missionary acquaintances of the Thorborns. The George Robinson the Viceroy of India had funded her education. She was the first woman from the erstwhile Bombay presidency of British India to study and graduate with a two-year degree in western medicine in the United States. She was also referred to as Anandibai Joshi and Anandi Gopal Joshi (where Gopal came from Gopalrao, her husband's first name).
Anandi Baii Joshi's birth name was Yamuna and she was born in Kalyan, on 31 March 1865, the fifth of nine children. She was raised in a Marathi Chitpavan Brahmin family Keeping with the traditions of the time and under the pressure from her mother, she was married at the age of nine to Gopalrao Joshi, who was a widower and twenty years older than her. After marriage, Yamuna's husband renamed her 'Anandi'. Gopalrao Joshi worked as a postal clerk in Kalyan. Later, he was transferred to Alibag, and then, finally, to Kolhapur. He was a progressive thinker, and, unusually for that time, supported education for women. During the nineteenth century, most girls in India were expected to marry young and focus on responsibilities at home instead of education. Support for women's education was uncommon at the time. Historians have noted that Gopalrao Joshi encouraging Anandibai to study was unusual for the time and played a major role in her decision to pursue medicine later in life. Anandibai was also a cousin of Pandita Ramabai (1858–1922), an Indian social reformer, educator, and advocate for women's rights.
At the age of fourteen, Anandibai gave birth to a boy, but the child lived only for a total of ten days due to lack of medical care. This proved to be a turning point in Anandi's life and inspired her to become a physician. After Gopalrao tried to enroll her in missionary schools but failed, they moved to Calcutta. There she was able to learn how to read and speak Sanskrit and English.
Her husband encouraged her to study medicine despite societal opposition. In 1880, he wrote a letter to Royal Wilder, a well-known American missionary, expressing his wife's interest in studying medicine and inquiring about opportunities in the United States Wilder published the correspondence in his Princeton's Missionary Review. Theodicia Carpenter, a resident of Roselle, New Jersey, happened to read it while waiting to see her dentist. Impressed by both Anandibai's desire to study medicine, and Gopalrao's support for his wife, she wrote to Anandibai. Carpenter and Anandibai developed a close friendship and came to refer to each other as "aunt" and "niece." Later, Carpenter would host Anandibai in Rochelle during Joshi's stay in the U.S.
Before leaving for America, Anandibai addressed the community at Serampore College Hall in 1883, explaining her decision to go to America and to pursue a medical degree. She discussed the persecution she and her husband had endured. She stressed the need for female doctors in India. She argued that Hindu women, constrained by cultural norms, would feel more comfortable receiving medical care from female doctors rather than male physicians.
In the 1800s, it was very unusual for husbands to focus on their wives' education. Gopalrao was obsessed with the idea of Anandibai's education and wanted her to learn medicine and create her own identity in the world. But this obsession turned out to be abusive. One day, he came into the kitchen and found her cooking with her grandmother and proceeded to go into a raging fit. It was very uncommon for husbands to beat their wives for cooking instead of reading. As Gopalrao's obsession with Joshi's education grew, he sent her with Mrs Carpenter, a Philadelphian missionary, to America to study medicine. Before her voyage, she addressed a public hall in 1883. She addressed the lack of women doctors and said "I volunteer myself as one."
Anandibai travelled to New York from Kolkata (Calcutta) by ship, chaperoned by two female English missionary acquaintances of the Thorborns. They helped her arrange her travel and ensured she would have appropriate chaperones with her for the journey. The Viceroy of India had contributed a total of 200 rupees to fund her education. In New York, Theodicia Carpenter, her American host, received her in June 1883. Anandibai wrote to the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, which was the second women's medical program in the world. She asked to be admitted to the school, indicating that she wanted to earn a medical degree because her "poor suffering country women...would rather die...than accept [medical aid] at the hands of a male physician”. Rachel Bodley, the dean of the college, enrolled her.
Anandibai began her medical training at age 19, making her one of the first Indian women to formally train in Western medicine. While studying in the United States, Anandibai faced many challenges adjusting to life abroad. She struggled with the cold climate, different food, and being far away from home. Even while studying Western medicine, she continued following many Hindu traditions. Researchers later described this balance between traditional Indian beliefs and Western education as an important part of her identity. Modern scholars have described Anandibai's journey to America an important moment in the history of women in medicine. At a time when very few Indian women were able to travel abroad for education, her decision to study medicine in the United States inspired many generations of women. Recent scholarship have studied the letters she wrote to India while studying in America. In her letters, she struggled with embracing the Western education versus maintaining her Hindu identity. Joshi remained committed to her Hindu traditions and values, choosing not to fully adopt Western customs despite societal pressure.
In America, her health worsened because of the cold weather and unfamiliar diet. She contracted tuberculosis. Nevertheless, she graduated with her medical degree on 11 March 1886 at twenty-one years old. Pandita Ramabai also came as a guest of honor. The topic of her thesis was "Obstetrics among the Aryan Hindus." The thesis incorporated references from classic Ayurvedic texts and American medical textbooks, showing her effort to bridge Indian and Western medical knowledge. Her achievement caught international attention, and even Queen Victoria sent Anandibai a congratulatory message on her graduation.
On November 16, 1886, Anandibai returned to India and was welcomed with great admiration and celebration for her achievements. Her return was seen as a moment of national pride, especially for advocates of women's education and healthcare reform, Soon after, she was appointed as the physician-in-charge the female ward of the local Albert Edward Hospital.
Before she had the opportunity to begin her medical practice, Anandibai's health continued to deteriorate due to tuberculosis, which she contracted while in the United States. Anandibai died on 26 February 1887 in Pune, just weeks before turning 22. Years preceding her death, she was fatigued and felt constant weaknesses. Medicine was sent to her from America but there were no results so she kept studying medicine until her final days. Her death was mourned throughout India. Her ashes were sent to Theodicia Carpenter, who placed them in her family cemetery at the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery in Poughkeepsie, New York. The inscription states that Anandi Joshi was a Hindu Brahmin girl, the first Brahmin woman to receive education abroad and to obtain a medical degree.
Modern views on Anandibai Joshi
In recent years, historians and researchers have continued studying Anandibai Joshi's life and accomplishments. Many scholars believe her story is important because she challenged traditional expectations for women during the nineteenth century. Historian Meera Kosambi wrote that Anandibai's speeches and letters showed early ideas about women's independence and education during a period when women's voices were often ignored.