I was reading The School for Bad Girls and I mentioned how much I was enjoying it to an acquaintance. Immediately, she said, “I thought Anandibai Joshi was the first female doctor from India.” We looked it up, and of course, I found myself going down a rabbit hole.
When I finished reading the book, I saw author Madhurima Vidyarthi’s note about the ongoing and “largely pointless” debate about who the first Indian woman to become a doctor was, and I smiled. After presenting a list of undeniable facts, the author goes on to ask,
But why should that be important? The race was not against each other, but a joint struggle against society, patriarchy and bureaucracy.
The School For Bad Girls, p. 303
And that is what the book is all about—a struggle for something that should never have been a struggle at all, yet continues to be one.
Set in nineteenth century Calcutta, The School for Bad Girls is a fictionalised account of Kadambini Bose’s obstacle-ridden path to becoming a doctor. (Side note – Despite what the blurb says, I would refer to her as Kadambini Bose. She begins to dream of becoming a doctor, and she sets out on her difficult path, when she is still Bose and not Ganguly!)
The mixture of real and fictional characters, as well as the use of multiple storytelling formats made me enjoy the book thoroughly. Diary entries, letters and narration come together seamlessly to tell the story of girls fighting prejudice and conditioning to make something of themselves. The idea of a mere female becoming a doctor is absurd—until it isn’t.
As I turned the pages, I was sucked into a whirlwind of emotion and action. This is a story of dreams and grit. It’s about coming together to support one another, but also about having the strength to stand on your own when others fall back. The conflict within each one of the fiery characters in the book came alive to me, spotlighting the fact that stigma doesn’t exist just in society. It is deeply entrenched within us and we often have to struggle to get rid of it. The School for Bad Girls is a powerful narrative that, like all good fiction, stays with you long after you’ve finished the story.
| Title | The School for Bad Girls |
| Author | Madhurima Vidyarthi |
| Tags | Historical Fiction, Young Adult |
| Rating (out of 5) | 5 |
| Ages | 12+ |
Leave a Reply