Women Rights

Channar revolt over the upper cloth

Nadar women in southern Travancore, including today's Kanyakumari district, struggled for decades for the right to cover their upper bodies.

Birth of poet Subramania Bharati

Subramania Bharati, a pioneer of modern Tamil poetry and a nationalist journalist, was born at Ettayapuram.

Muthulakshmi Reddy graduates from Madras Medical College

Muthulakshmi Reddy, the first woman admitted to Madras Medical College in 1907, graduated in 1912 and became one of India's first women doctors.

Women's Indian Association founded at Adyar

Margaret Cousins, Annie Besant, Dorothy Jinarajadasa and others founded the Women's Indian Association at Adyar to campaign for women's rights.

Madras grants voting rights to women

The Madras Legislative Council resolved to extend the franchise to women, among the first provinces in British India to do so.

Muthulakshmi Reddy becomes first woman legislator in India

Doctor and reformer Muthulakshmi Reddy was nominated to the Madras Legislative Council, becoming the first woman legislator in British India.

First Provincial Self-Respect Conference at Chengalpattu

The first provincial conference of the Self-Respect Movement at Chengalpattu passed resolutions against caste and for women's rights.

Tamil Nadu Women's Conference backs anti-Hindi agitation

To display women's backing for the protests against compulsory Hindi, a Tamil Nadu Women's Conference met in Madras.

Madras Devadasis (Prevention of Dedication) Act enacted

The Madras legislature outlawed the dedication of girls to temples as devadasis, ending a long reform campaign.

Women first recruited into the Tamil Nadu Police

The first batch of women police, a sub-inspector, a head constable and 20 constables, was recruited in Tamil Nadu in 1973.

Equal property rights for women and 30% job quota

Tamil Nadu amended Hindu succession law to give daughters equal rights in family property and reserved 30% of government jobs for women.

All-women police stations set up

The Jayalalithaa government opened police stations run entirely by women to handle complaints from women, starting in Chennai.

Vachathi atrocity

In Dharmapuri district, a raid on the tribal village of Vachathi by police, forest and revenue officials left villagers assaulted and women raped.

Pollachi sexual assault and extortion case

Arrests in Pollachi exposed a gang accused of sexually assaulting and blackmailing many women, causing statewide outrage and protests.

Anna University campus sexual assault case

A student was sexually assaulted on the Anna University campus; the sole accused was convicted and sentenced to life in 2025.

Life sentences in the Pollachi sexual assault case

All nine accused in the Pollachi case were found guilty by a Mahila court in Coimbatore and given life imprisonment.