Everyone knows about the country's first woman IPS officer, IAS officer, and Prime Minister. But, very few people know who was the first female chartered accountant (CA) of India. When the country was fighting for independence from colonialism and there were fewer opportunities for women to study, a woman became a chartered accountant. At that time, accountancy was considered a male-dominated field. The name of the country's first woman CA is R Shivabhogam.
Born on July 23, 1907, R Shivabhogam did her schooling at Lady Wellington School, Chennai. After this, she did her graduation from Queen Mary College, Chennai. After graduation, influenced by the appeal of Mahatma Gandhi, she joined the Civil Disobedience Movement. She was jailed for one year for joining the movement. Jail sentence gave a different purpose of life to R Shivabhogam. She dreamed of becoming an accountant while in jail. Her elder sister helped to realise this dream.
After being released from jail, R Shivbhogam registered for a diploma course in accountancy. She created history by becoming the country's first female chartered accountant in the year 1933. After this, CA articleship training was done under CS Shastri.
After completing her CA studies, R Shivabhogam wanted to do independent practice. During the British Raj, there was a ban on practicing as accountants for those people who had been jailed for some reason. After this, R Shivbhogam filed a petition against this Act, and the decision was taken in her favor. Ultimately, she started practice as an independent accountant in the year 1937. When ICAI was established in 1950, she became its member and Fellow in 1950.
All about R Shivabhogam's college Queen Mary College in Chennai
Queen Mary College, Chennai was established in the year 1914. This was the first women's college in the city. It is also the third oldest women's college in the country. When this college was started, 33 girl students were enrolled in it. Now more than 5000 girl students study in it. Queen Mary College is ranked 47th in the NIRF Ranking 2022.
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