Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy

                                        Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy 

Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy(30 July 1886, Madras – 22 July 1968) was an eminent medical practitioner, social reformer and Padma Bhushan awardee inIndia. She was the first woman legislator in India

Muthulakshmi Reddy was appointed to the Madras Legislative Council in 1927. For her, this nomination marked the beginning of her lifelong effort to "correct the balance" for women by removing social abuses and working for equality in moral standards. She was one of the women pioneers who stood for the cause of liberating India from the British. She was a women's activist and a social reformer.

Muthulakshmi had many firsts to her recognition. She was the first female student to be admitted into a men's college, the first woman House Surgeon in the Government Maternity and Ophthalmic Hospital, the first woman legislator in British India, the first Chairperson of the State Social Welfare Advisory Board, the first woman Deputy President of the Legislative Council, and the first Alderwoman of the Madras Corporation Avvai Home.