Anandi Gopal Joshi

Hello! My name is Anandi Gopal Joshi. I was born in India a long, long time ago, on March 31st, 1865. When I was a little girl, my name was Yamuna. I got married when I was only nine years old to a kind man named Gopalrao Joshi. He believed that girls should be able to learn and read, which was a very new idea back then! He was my first teacher, and he opened up the whole world to me through books.

When I was fourteen, something very sad happened. I had a baby boy, but he got sick and passed away after only ten days. There were no women doctors to help us. My heart was broken, but right then, I made a promise to myself. I decided I would become a doctor so I could help other mothers and their babies.

Becoming a doctor was a huge dream because there were no medical schools for women in India. But my husband Gopalrao helped me. We wrote letters all the way to America! A kind woman named Theodicia Carpenter read my story and invited me to come live with her. In 1883, I traveled on a big ship across the ocean to a new country. I was nervous but also very excited. I started studying at a special school just for women, the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania.

Studying in America was hard. The weather was cold, and I missed my home. But I never gave up on my dream. In 1886, I did it! I graduated and became Doctor Anandi Gopal Joshi. I was so proud to be one of the very first women doctors from India. After I graduated, I sailed back home, ready to open a clinic and help people.

While I was in America, I became very sick, and I wasn't able to work as a doctor for very long after I returned to India. I lived to be almost 22 years old. Even though my life was short, I showed everyone that women could be anything they wanted to be, even doctors. I am so happy that my story helped inspire many other girls in India and all over the world to follow their biggest dreams.