Anna Chandy has the rare distinction of being the first Indian woman to become a judge not only in India, but in the entire British commonwealth. She was also one of the earliest feminists in Kerala. She was the first woman in the state of Kerala to earn a post graduate degree in law.
Her publication "Shrimati" was the first women's magazine in malayalam in which the issues of women and widow marriage were widely discussed.
It is also said that she was the second woman in the world after USA's Florence Allen to have been appointed a high court judge.
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Early life and education
Anna was born on 4th May 1904 in Trivandrum, the then capital of Travancore in a Syrian Christian family. Her father passed away soon after her birth after which her mother took great pains to bring her up along with her sister, by working in a local school.
Anna enrolled herself for a post-graduate degree in law in 1927 when the Government Law college opened admissions to women despite scathing opposition. She got her post-graduate degree in law in 1929 with a distinction and was subsequently appointed to the bar and became famous as a criminal lawyer braving the snide remarks of her male colleagues.
Starting the publication Shrimati
She took her activism outside the courtroom by starting the magazine "Shrimati" which was the first women's magazine in Malayalam. Along with articles on home management, health and household industries, it became an independent voice for women's rights and the question of widow remarriage. Through her writing in Shrimati she also tried to focus on the issues faced by women workers in farms who weren't paid reasonable wages by their landlords and were harassed.
Entry into politics
She made an entry into active politics in 1930 when she decided to contest for the Shree Moolam popular assembly, an elected representative body for Travancore state. Her opponents carried a malicious slander campaign against her accusing her of having relationships with the Dewan of Travancore and important government officials. This worked against her and she lost the elections. Despite protests and hostility from both her competitors and media she was successful in winning the Shree Moolam popular assembly seat serving from 1932-1934.
As a prominent activist and speaker, she passionately fought for women's rights and especially for the rights of daily wage laborers. In 1937, she was appointed the first lady munsif or the lowest level judicial officer by the then Dewan of the Travancore state, which paved the way for her rise up the ranks. In a speech she described her ordeal and how all the peering eyes were waiting for an opportunity to pin the blame on women and how the future of women lawyers would be determined by her performance in her chair.
“I must admit that I was not free from trepidation when I first stepped up to the Bench. However, what was foremost in my mind was a fierce determination to make a success of this experiment. I knew I was a test case… If I faltered or failed, I would not just be damaging my own career, but would be doing a great disservice to the cause of women.”
She was later appointed the district court judge after India gained independence and in 1959 she became the high court judge, becoming the first woman to hold this position among all commonwealth nations.
After a career full of controversial and courageous moments, she retired in 1967 and became the member of the National Law Commission where she keen on bringing substantial changes.
Her fight for women's rights
In an era when women were forced to spend their times in the four walls of their house and not allowed to step out to work, she fought against a fellow legislator who was opposing the appointment of women in government jobs. She used the law brilliantly against her opponent and said
"‘From the elaborate petition, it is clear that the plaintiff's immediate demand is to ban all efforts by women to gain employment, on the grounds that they are a bunch of creatures created for domestic pleasures of men, and that their lives outside the hallowed kitchen temples will harm familial happiness."
Her daunting fight did away with the rule that prevented women from holding government posts. She was one of the first women in the country to demand women's reservation. However she was also a firm advocate of equal rights which is why argued against the law that exempted women from death penalty. She believed in the free and fair justice.
She also passionately fought for reproductive rights of women challenging the Travancore law which gave men the power to exercise conjugal rights without the consent of their wife. In a speech she gave in 1935, she argued
"Many of our sister-Malayalees have property rights, voting rights, employment and honours, financial independence. But how many have control over their own bodies? How many women have been condemned to depths of feelings of inferiority because of the foolish idea that women's body is an instrument for pleasure for men"?
Her autobiography titled "Atmakatha" was published in 1973.
She died at the ripe old age of 91 in 1996.
Anna Chandy was often described as one of the earliest feminists of Kerala and one of the first torch bearers of women's rights in India. She was way ahead of her times which is why she was one of the first women to openly and fearlessly fight for the autonomy of women on their bodies. Her invaluable contribution paved the way for women judges and lawyers which had largely been a male dominated field.
References
1) Navrang India
2) Anna Chandy-Wikipedia
