Dr.Vijayalakshmi Nambiar is on the left and on the right is my mother "On seeing the call for articles related to "The First Graduate" marking International Women's Day for 2014, I wanted to do a write up on my... Continue Reading →

"My name is M.Vasantha Kumary. I am the 6th member of my family which consists of 5 brothers and 3 sisters. I am the first women in my family to get a degree. I got my degree in the year 1971 for Economics. I studied in Govt. Women's college, Vazhuthacaud Trivandrum, Kerala during 1968-71. I... Continue Reading →

"My father immigrated to Malaysia (then known as Malaya) before the Second World War after marrying my mother aged 11. My mother joined him in Malaysia after the war and after 10 years of being married my parents had 8 children, four girls and four boys. Some of us were born in India and some... Continue Reading →

"I was the first woman graduate in my family. I graduated in 1957. I studied in Government Arts College in Coimbatore."

(Photo taken in 1940) "The First Woman Graduate in My Family My mother, Sofia Cordeiro Monteiro, was the first woman graduate in her family. Born in 1919, she lived in Goa (then a colony of Portugal), where there were no facilities for University education. She was a brilliant student, finishing her SSC with distinction in... Continue Reading →

"The first woman graduate in the extended family is my maternal aunt, Subhalakshmi, 84 years old, living in Chennai, who holds a Masters degree in Economics. She passed out of Presidency College, Madras in the year 1951 and was ranked second in the University of Madras. She is currently a writer who writes in English... Continue Reading →

"I am Choodamani Raghavan and am the first woman graduate from a well known family of Chennai.I graduated in 1959 from Queen Marys College, Madras University in BA Economics . I am the grand daughter of K.S Krishnaswamy Iyengar a famous lawyer and High Court judge and daughter of K.S Vijayaraghavan Chief general manager SBI... Continue Reading →

"I am Susan Vergese, wife of George Vergese. After schooling in Mumbai and thereafter in Chennai, I passed out from Ethiraj College, Chennai in 1977. I did a course at Cultural Academy, Chennai and then got married. I joined my father's business selling X-ray films. After my father's demise, I continued to run "The X-ray... Continue Reading →

G.K. Revathi (on the right); photo taken in 1976 at Krishna Photo Studio, Pondy Bazaar, Chennai "Guntur Krishnamurthy Revathi was the first female graduate of her family. While she studied Biology in school when it came to college she chose Commerce as she thought it would help her secure a job. Even before she completed... Continue Reading →

Photo taken in 1972 "To the best of our knowledge, my mother, Anjana Vedapuri, is the first female graduate in her family. N.Anjana (as she was called then) finished her graduation in English Literature from Ethiraj College, Chennai in 1970. While her family could be called conservative in some ways, they were also highly supportive... Continue Reading →