Introduction
Indian Women Personalities article presents the list of Indian Women Personalities who are prominently known for their achievements and for being the first females in their respective fields. Indian Women Personalities, is one of the important topics in the General Awareness section in many competitive exams such as IBPS, SSC, UPSC, RRB, RBI, SBI etc.
Personalities
The history of Indian women is full of pioneers, who have broken gender barriers and worked hard for their rights and made progress in the field of politics, arts, science, law etc.
Below table contains the list of Indian Women Personalities.
| Name | Achievement |
|---|---|
| Anjum Chopra | First Indian woman to be honoured with Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) life membership |
| Aarti Pradhan | First Indian woman to cross Gibraltar Strait to swim. |
| Asima Chatterjee | First woman to win ‘Shati Swaroop Bhatnagar’ Prize |
| Abda Bai Payrulakar | First woman Circus player |
| Aditi Chauhan | First Indian Women To Play English Football |
| Aditi Pant | First Indian woman to visit Antarctica |
| Aishwarya Rai Bachchan | First female celebrity wax statue in Europeon Museum |
| Amandeep Kaur | First female Indian bouncer |
| Ambika Sharma | First female owner of a Harley Davidson |
| Ami Ghiya-Kanwal Thakur Singh | First woman to win bronze medal in Common Wealth Games for badminton. |
| Amrit Kaur | First woman Union Minister |
| Amruta Patil | First Female Graphic Novelist |
| Amrita Pritam | First woman to win ‘Shahitya Academic Prize |
| Anandi Gopal Joshi | First Indian woman to get a degree in Western medicine |
| Anjali Gupta | First female flying officer in the Indian Air Force |
| Anna Chandi | First female judge in India of district court in the year 1937 |
| The First woman in India to become a high court judge in 1959 | |
| Anna Rajam George (Malhotra) | First female Indian Administrative Service officer of India |
| Annie Besant | First woman elected to the London School Board for Tower Hamlets, topping the poll even though few women were qualified to vote at that time. |
| Arati Saha | First Indian and Asian woman to swim across English Channel |
| First Indian female sportsperson to be awarded Padma Shri in 1960. | |
| Archana Bharat Kumar Patel | First woman to win International Swimming Marathon. |
| Archana Ramasundaram | First woman head paramilitary force |
| Aruna Asaf Ali | First woman to win Lenin Peace Prize |
| Arundhati Bhattacharya | First woman chair of State Bank of India (206 Year Old Bank) |
| Arundhati Roy | First Indian woman to win the Booker Prize |
| Arunima Sinha | First female amputee and First Indian amputee to climb Mount Everest. |
| Ashapurna Devi | First woman to get Jnanpith Award |
| Ashwini Waskar | First competitive female body builder |
| Asima Chatterjee | First woman to be conferred a Doctorate of Science by an Indian University in 1944 |
| Avasarala Kanyakumari | First Indian Female who received the highest honour ‘Padma Shri’ |
| Alisha Abdullah | ndia’s first female national racing champion |
| Aruna Sethi | First women head of Indian Cost Accounting Service |
| Archana Ramasundram | First woman IPS officer to head paramilitary force |
| Aparna Kumar | First woman IPS officer to scale Antarctica’s tallest peak |
| Bachendri Pal | First Indian woman to climb the Mt. Everest |
| Badass Bangalorean | First female Uber cab driver in India |
| Bhagyashree Thipsay | First Indian women chess player holding the title of Woman International Master |
| Bhuwan Shree Gautam | First woman Aircraft maintenance engineer in Indian airlines |
| C. B. Muthamma | First woman to join the INDIAN FOREIGN SERVICE in 1949 |
| First Indian female Ambassador/ High Commissioner | |
| Capt. Durwa Banerjee | First Indian woman pilot in world to fly Airbus |
| Captain Saudamini Deshmukh | First indian women commander in Boeing-737 airplane |
| First Indian woman to command the Airbus A320 in 1994. | |
| Chitra Ramakrishna | First woman Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of India’s leading stock exchange National Stock Exchange |
| CHOKILA IYER | First female Foreign Secretary |
| Cornelia Sorabji | First female advocate from India and the First woman to study law at Oxford |
| Deepa Malik | First Indian woman athlete to bag a medal at the Paralympics |
| Deborah Herold | First female cyclist from the country to reach the heights of fourth place in the UCI individual world ranking |
| Deepika Misra | First female aerobatics pilot |
| Diana Edulagee | First woman to get 100 wickets in International woman cricket. |
| Dicky Dolma | First woman to climb on Mount Everest twice in the youngest age 19 in 1993. |
| Divya Ajith | First Lady Cadet to be conferred by the Army with the coveted ‘Sword of Honour’. |
| DJ Megha Kawale | First Indian female DJ is an ultimate international female DJ |
| Dr Padmavathy Bandopadhyay | First woman Air Marshal of the Indian Air Force |
| Second woman in the Indian armed forces to be promoted to a three-star rank | |
| Dr Sivaramakrishna Padmavati | First & oldest woman heart specialist |
| Dr Swati Piramal | First woman president of India’s apex chamber of commerce, ASSOCHAM |
| Dr. Aashima Chatarjee | First woman Chairperson of Indian Science Congress |
| Dr. Amruta Patel | First woman to win Norman Borlogue Prize (1992) |
| Dr. Kawal Sandhu | First woman to live most days on Antarctica (472 days) |
| Dr. Prema Mukharjee | First woman Surgeon |
| Dr. S. Muthulakshmi Reddy | First woman legislator in India Muthulakshmi Reddy was appointed to the Madras Legislative Council in 1927. |
| Dr. Suniti Solomon | First to detect and document the evidence of HIV infection in the country in 1986 |
| Durga Banerjee | First Indian female pilot of the Indian Airlines Captain in 1966. First woman ever to fly the Tornado A-200. |
| Durgabai Kamat | First actress of Indian Cinema |
| Dr. Seema Rao | India’s First Female Commando Trainer |
| Dipa Karmakar | First woman gymnast to qualify for Olympics |
| Eggoni Pushpa Lalitha | India first women bishop of Nandyal for a mainstream church in India |
| Fatima Begum | First female film director of Indian cinema |
| Firoz Fatma | First Female Crorepati at Kaun Banega Crorepati |
| G. M. Ram | First woman Major General in Indian Army |
| G. V. Satyavati | First woman Director general of Indian Medical Research Commission |
| Galeriya Beri | First woman to get ‘Shourya Chakra’ (after death) |
| Gauhar Khan | First female winner at The Miss India Pageant |
| Harita Deol | First woman pilot to fly solo in the Indian Air Force. The flight was an Avro HS-748, when she was 22 years old. |
| Harsha | First test tube baby |
| Harshini Kanhekar | First female fire fighter |
| Heena Sidhu | First Indian Pistol shooter to be Ranked World No.1 by ISSF |
| Hetal Dave | First Indian female sumo wrestler |
| Homai Vyarawalla | First Female Photojournalist of India |
| Illa Mazumdar | First woman Graduate in Engineering |
| Indira Jeising | First Female Additional Solicitor General of India |
| Indrani Mukerjea | First female TV mogul |
| Indrani Rehman | First Miss India |
| First dancer to go on a national tour by the Asia Society | |
| Indu K.Mallah | First Badaga woman to go abroad |
| Indushree | First female ventriloquist (specialist in dummy act) in India |
| Isa Guha | First female test expert on bbc radio |
| Ishita Malaviya | India’s First Woman Surfer |
| Jayaprada Ramamurthy | First Female Flute Artiste to Perform various types of Bamboo Flutes |
| Justice M. Fathima Beevi | First female judge who was appointed to the Supreme Court of India |
| Kritika Purohit | India’s First Blind Female Doctor |
| Kadambini Ganguly | First female graduates from India and the entire British Empire |
| First South Asian female physician, trained in western medicine, to graduate in South Asia | |
| Kalpana Chawla | First Indian Origin woman to go into space |
| Kamaljeet Sandhu | First Indian woman to win gold medal at 1970 Asian games in 400 metre race |
| Kamla Swaminathan | First woman editor of First woman’s magazine (Indian Ladies magazine, 1901) |
| Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya | First female IPS officer to become the Director General of Police |
| Kaushalya Narayan | First woman commissioner of custom and central excise |
| Kiran Bedi | First Indian woman IPS officer |
| First woman to get the Raman magsaysay prize for public service | |
| Kirthiga Reddy | First woman Facebook’s employee in India as Managing Director |
| Kornoliya Sorabaji | First woman Barrister in India of Allahabad High Court |
| Karnam Malleswari | India’s First Female Bronze Medalist Sydney 2000 Olympics |
| Kangana Ranaut | India’s First Female Superhero |
| Lakshmi Sahgal | First female commanding officer of Netaji Subhas Bose’s Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army) |
| First female commanding officer of Netaji Subhas Bose’s Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army) | |
| LEELA K. PONAPPA | First female Deputy National Security Adviser |
| Lt. Kiran Shekhawat | First woman officer to die in line of duty |
| M C Mary Kom | First woman boxer to win gold medal at the Olympics and First woman World Boxing Champion for five times |
| M.S. Subbulakshmi | First woman Musician to get ‘Bharat Ratna’ |
| First woman to perform in United Nations Organization | |
| Malini Parthasarathy | First female editor on The Hindu newspaper |
| Mamata Banerjee | First Indian Woman Minister of Indian Railways |
| Mary Dsouza | First Female Olympian and Double International |
| Meenakshi Sharma | First woman metro train driver |
| Meera Borwankar | First woman to head the Mumbai’s Crime Branch Department |
| Meera Sahib Fatima Bibi | First woman became permanent Judge of the High Court |
| Mehar Musa | First woman to reach Antarctica |
| Meira Kumar | First female speaker of India s parliament |
| Merry Lila Ro | First woman to participate in Olympic Games |
| Miss Reita Faria | First Indian woman to become ‘Miss World’ |
| Mitali Madhumita | First female officer to receive the Sena Medal for gallantry |
| Mithali Raj | First female cricketer to win Wisden India Cricketers of the Year recognition |
| Monisha Kaltenborn | First woman Team Principal in Formula One |
| Mother Teresa | First Indian woman to get the Nobel Prize |
| Mrs. Sundari | First woman professor (Avinashilingam Home Science College,CBE) |
| Muthulakshmi Reddi | First woman legislator in India Muthulakshmi Reddy was appointed to the Madras Legislative Council in 1927. |
| Manju | First Female Railway Coolie at Jaipur |
| N. Lamsaden | First woman awarded by ‘Arjuna Prize’ for Hockey game |
| Naina Lal Kidwai | First Indian woman to graduate from the Harvard Business School |
| Neerja Bhanot | First Woman to receive Ashoka Chakra |
| Neeta Ghosh | First woman Paratrooper in Indian Air force |
| NIRUPAMA RAO | First woman Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs |
| Nungshi and Tashi | First youngest Indians to enter the coveted ‘the seven summit club’ |
| P.V. Sindhu | First Indian woman to win an Olympic Silver Medal in Badminton |
| P.K. Tresiya Ganguly | First woman Chief Engineer |
| Panchmarthi Anuradha | First woman mayor |
| Pooja Keni | First female monorail driver |
| Pratibha Patil | First woman president of India |
| Pratima Puri | First woman News reader on ‘Door Darsan’ |
| Preeti Sen Gupta | First woman to reach north pole |
| Prem Mathur | First woman commercial pilot |
| Premlata Agrawal | First Indian woman mountaineer to complete the Seven Summits |
| Priya Desai | First Indian-American Priya Desai Serves as a Trailblazer for Female Sports Broadcasters |
| Priya Jhingan | First Indian woman to join the Indian Army |
| Puja Thakur | First officer to lead the Inter-Service Guard of Honour |
| Radhabai Subairan | First woman M.P. in central legislative (1938) |
| Raja Rajeswari | First Indian woman to be appointed a judge in the New York City |
| Razia Sultan | First woman ruler of Delhi in India |
| Reena Kaushal Dharmshaktu | First woman to ski to South Pole |
| Regina Guhaa | First woman Advocate |
| Rita Singh | First women figure champ |
| Rose Million Bethews | First woman chairperson of the U.P.S.C. |
| Ruchira Kamboj | First woman in the Indian Foreign Service to hold Chief of Protocol to the Government of India |
| Rupshikha | First woman to head oil firm in India |
| Radhika Menon | First Female Captain on Indian Navy |
| Rajkumari Dubey | First Female Playback Singer of Indian Cinema |
| Saarah Hameed | First Female Muslim Pilot in India |
| Saina Nehwal | First Indian to win a Bronze medal in Badminton at the Olympics. |
| Samata Kumari | First Indian Female Train Loco pilot |
| Sania Mirza | First Indian woman to win WTA Title |
| Santosh Yadav | First Indian Woman to Climb the ‘Mt. Everest’ twice |
| Sapper Shanti Tigga | First woman jawan in Indian Army |
| Saraswati Devi | The First Ever Female composor of India |
| Sarla Thakral | First Indian woman to fly an aircraft |
| Sarojini Naidu | First woman minister of Independent India and First Indian woman president of Indian National Congress |
| Savitribai Phule | First female teachers for girls in India |
| Selvi Gowda | First female taxi driver |
| Shail Mishra | First woman loco pilot of Delhi Metro Train |
| Shanta Kumar | First woman Bank Manager (Syndicate bank, Bangalore) |
| Sherlyn Chopra | First Indian woman to pose naked for Playboy magazine |
| Shirine Khusaro Kiyash | First and only woman to participate in three games (Cricket, Hockey and Basketball) |
| Shraddha Sharma | First female blogger to feature on the list of top 10 professional bloggers in India |
| Sita varathambal and bhragathambal (sisters) | First woman Finger print specialist |
| Smt. Devika Rani | First Actress in Indian cinema |
| Smt. Indira Gandhi | First woman chairperson of planning commission and First Indian woman to get Bharat Ratna |
| Smt. Jayanti Patnayak | First woman Chairperson of National Woman Commission |
| Smt. Shanno Devi | First woman Deputy Chairperson of legislative assembly |
| Sourabhee Debbarma | First female winner of popular music reality show Indian Idol |
| Squadron Leader Urmila Bheeman | First Woman commissioned Officer in IAF |
| Sucheta Kriplani | First woman to cross Gobi desert |
| Suman Sharma | First Woman Fighter Pilot of India!, First civilian woman to fly the F-16IN Super-Viper, First woman in the world to fly the MiG-35 |
| Sumita Laha | First woman to make world record in Power lifting |
| Sunil Dabas | First woman kabaddi coach to win Dronacharya Award |
| Sunita Sharma | First woman cricket coach |
| Surekha Shankar Yadav | First female train driver for the Indian Railways in India and in Asia also |
| Sushmita Sen | First Indian woman to become ‘Miss Universe’ |
| Sumita Bose | First woman and the first author to write a book on Autism in India |
| Sister Alphonsa | First native Indian saint by the Catholic Church |
| Sridevi | First Female SuperStar of India Cinema |
| Sajida Khan | First Female Music Technician in India |
| Shabnam Ara Begum | India’s first woman qazi |
| Taniya Sachdev | First girl to win 5 silver medals in pre junior Chess competition, London |
| Tara Cherian | First woman mayor of Madras city. The Government of India awarded her the civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan in 1967. |
| Tarajani Vakeel | First woman Chairperson of Import-Export Bank |
| Toaru Dutt | First woman English writer in India |
| Ujjavala Patil | First woman to complete the round of world by a boat in 1988. |
| Usha Raghunathan | First Female Pilot from South India |
| Uma Devi Khatri (Tun Tun) | Bollywood First Female comedienne |
| V. S. Ramadevi | First woman Secretary General of ‘Rajya Sabha’ |
| Vadhumukhi Bose, Virginiya Mitter | First woman M.M.B.S. (1889, Kolkata Medical Collage) |
| Vankadarath Saritha | First Woman DTC Driver |
| Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit | First Indian President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1953 and Ambassador at United Nations in 1947 |
| Vimla Devi | First woman to get Military Medal |
| Violet Alva | First woman Deputy Chairperson of ‘Rajya Sabha’ |
| Yolanda De Souza | First woman to make Hat trick in International Football |
| Zubeida Begum Dhanrajgir | First Indian film actress acted in the First Indian talkie movie Alam Ara |