First Woman in Kerala in Various Fields

Mar 2020|🟢Current|5 min read|83 entries

First in Kerala Kerala Kerala History Static GK

Key Takeaway

According to the Census of 2011, Kerala is one of the only two states in India where women outnumber men, there is no field that Malayali women have not shattered the stereotypes and staked their c...

Last verified: 12 Feb 2026·Source: www.pscarivukal.com

First Woman in Kerala in Various Fields(83)

Item	Detail
Below is the list of First Women in Kerala	another important topic for GK exams – who was brave enough to do so, changed the history, and forged the path for the younger generation
First Woman in KeralaAdministration & GovernanceFirst Woman from Kerala to become part of the Union Government	Lakshmi Nanda Menon.(Deputy Minister, Ministry of External Affairs, 1957 - 1962)First Woman minister of Kerala –K. R. Gowri.(Revenue Minister,first Kerala Ministry in 1957)First Female law student coming from the Ezhava community –K. R. Gowri
First Woman Governor of Kerala	Jothi Venkatachalam.(14 October 1977 - 26 October 1982)First Kerala Woman to become Governor of an Indian State –Fathima Beevi.(Tamil Nadu)First Woman to become an Elected member of any legislature in India–Thottakkadu Madhavi Amma.(Kochi Legislative Assembly, 1925)First Woman to become Deputy Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly –K. O. Aysha Bai.(6 May 1957 – 31 July 1959)First Protem Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly –Rosamma Punnoose*
Longest-serving protem speaker	Rosamma Punnoose
First person to be sworn in as a member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly	Rosamma Punnoose
First MLA in India who lost seat following a court order	Rosamma Punnoose
The first person to be elected in the first-ever by-election to the Kerala Legislative Assembly in 1958	Rosamma Punnoose
First Woman MP(Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha)from Kerala	Annie Mascarene
First Malayali Woman to become Chief Minister of an Indian state	Janaki Ramachandran(Tamil Nadu)*
First and only Dalit woman to be elected to the Constituent Assembly in 1946	Dakshayani Velayudhan
First Scheduled Caste Woman Graduate in India	Dakshayani Velayudhan
First Scheduled Caste Woman Science Graduate	Dakshayani Velayudhan
First Scheduled Caste member of the Cochin Legislative Council	Dakshayani Velayudhan
First Woman from the Pulya community to wear an upper cloth	Dakshayani Velayudhan
First Woman Chief-Secretary of Kerala	Padma Ramachandran*
First Chairperson of Kerala Women's Commission	Sugathakumari*
First Woman to become the Vice-Chancellor of a University in Kerala	Dr. Jancy James.(2004, Mahatma Gandhi University)First Woman Chief Engineer in the Public Works Department(PWD)in Kerala –P.K. Thresia.(1971)First Woman to become Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax Department–Sasikala Nair.(July 2020)First Malayali Woman of Indian Origin to become a minister in New Zealand–Priyanca Radhakrishnan.(2020)*
First Woman to become Dafedar in Kerala Collectorates	K. Siji
Arts, Literature & EntertainmentFirst Woman to win Booker Prize*	Arundhati Roy(1997)
First Malayali Woman to receive Saraswati Samman	Balamani Amma("Nivedyam," 1995)
First Women’s Magazine in Malayalam	Keraleeya Suguna Bodhini(Trivandrum, 1886)
First Women’s Magazine Weekly in Malayalam discussing women's rights	Shrimati
First Women’s magazine weekly in Malayalam was published by	Anna Chandy
First Woman from Kerala to receive Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, a literary honor bestowed by the Sahitya Akademi	Balamani Amma(1994)
First Malayalam actress	P. K. Rosi(Vigathakumaran)
First Muslim film actress in Kerala	Nilambur Ayisha
First Film acted was	The Elephant Queen(Hindi)
First film in Malayalam	Kandam Becha Kottu
First Woman Film Director in Malayalam	Vijaya Nirmala
First woman to win the Kerala State film award for best director	Vidhu Vincent(Manhole, 2016)
First Woman to win the National award (Urvasi Award) for acting	Sarada(Thulabharam, 1968)
First Malayali Woman recipient of J.C Daniel Award	Aranmula Ponnamma
First Female singer from Kerala to be honored by House Of Commons, British Parliament, United Kingdom*	K.S. Chitra
First Keralite Woman who joined the Film & Television Institute of India	Jameela Malik
Awards & HonorsFirst Woman in Kerala to receive Padma Bhushan	Lakshmi Nanda Menon(1957, Public Affairs)
First Tribal Woman from Kerala to receive Padma Shri	Lakshmikutty(Kaani tribe, Thiruvananthapuram, 2018)
Judiciary & Armed ForcesFirst Kerala Woman Judge*	Anna Chandy(1937, District Judge (munsif) Travancore by the Dewan Sir CP Ramaswami Iyer)
First Woman Chief justice of Kerala High Court	Sujata Manohar(April 1994)*
FirstMalayaliWoman who became Kerala High Court Chief justice	K.K. Usha(2000)*
First Woman to be appointed as the judge of the Supreme Court*	Justice Meera Sahib Fatima Beevi(1989, Apex Court judges)
The First Muslim woman to get law degree in Travancore	Fatima Beevi
The first Muslim woman to hold the post of Munsiff, Magistrate, District Judge	Fatima Beevi
First Muslim Woman High Court Judge	Fatima Beevi
First Woman to be appointed as Magistrate*	Omana Kunjamma
Kerala's First Woman IPS Officer	R. Sreelekha
First WomanDGP of Kerala	R. Sreelekha
Kerala's First Woman Intelligence Chief	R. Sreelekha
The first woman to become superintendent of police in Kerala	R. Sreelekha
FirstMalayaliWoman to become DGP in an Indian State	Letika Saran(Tamil Nadu, 2010)
First Female Merchant Navy Captain*	Radhika Menon(2012)
First Woman Registrar General of Kerala High Court	Sophy Thomas(May 25, 2020)*
First Woman Excise Inspector of Kerala	Sajitha O.(July 2020)*
First Woman Helicopter Pilot in Indian Navy	Sub. Lt Anagha B Rajeev
First Malayali woman to join the Air Force through the Agnipath scheme	Megha Mukundan
Education, Science & TechnologyFirst Woman scientist to head a missile project in India	Tessy Thomas
First Woman Law Graduate in Kerala	Anna Chandy
First Female Surgeon General*	Mary Poonen Lukose(1938)
First Woman from Kerala to graduate in Medicine	Mary Poonen Lukose
First Malayali woman to become Vice Chancellor of an University	Mariamma Varghese(University of Mumbai, 1996)*
First woman Vice Chancellor of Kerala	Prof. Dr. Jancy James(MG University)Sports & AdventureFirst Woman to qualify for Olympic Games–Sini Abraham
First Indian woman to reach the semi-finals of an Olympic event*	Shiny Abraham(Wilson)
First Indian woman captain and flag bearer for Indian Contingent for 1996 Atlanta Olympics	Shiny Abraham(Wilson)
First Woman to reach the final of an Olympic event*	P.T. Usha
First Malayali woman to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games	Anju Bobby George
First Woman from Kerala to win the Arjuna Award	K.C. Elamma(1975, Volleyball)
First Keralite woman recipient of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna	K.M Beena Mol(2002, Athletics)
First Woman from Kerala to win an individual Gold medal at the Asian Games	M. D. Valsamma(400 m hurdles, 1982 New Delhi)
First Malayali woman selected in 'Indian Senior Woman Cricket Team' from Wayanad, Kerala	Minnumani
Kerala's first woman International Chess Master	Dr. Nimmi M. George
MiscellaneousFirst Woman Journalistof Kerala	Yasodha(Deshabhimani)
First Woman Saint of the Indian origin	Saint Alphonsa
First Woman Ordained Priest in Kerala	Marathakavalli David(1989)
First Woman from Kerala to appear on a Postal Stamp	Saint Alphonsa
First Woman Commercial Pilot of Kerala	Jeni Jerome.*First-person to speak Malayalam in the UN General Assembly–Mata Amritanandamayi(2000). First in India as well.*updated according to current statistics...📝SideNotesAutobiography of Anna Chandy–Atmakatha(1973)
Tessy Thomas	also known as‘Missile Woman of India’ & ‘Agniputri’
First person to get MLA seat following a court order	V.R. Krishna Iyer
Letika Saran	Second Female DGP of a state in India.DGP – Director General of Police
First Woman Saint of India	Gonsalo Garcia (born to a Portuguese father & an Indian mother inVasai near Mumbai,1556)
First Women-friendly panchayath in Kerala	Mararikulam South
First Vanitha (all women) Police Station in Kerala	Kozhikode City Vanitha Police Station(1973, inaugurated by Indira Gandhi)
First Ordained Woman in India	Reverend Sister Elizabeth Paul(1987)
Kerala's first International Women's Trade Centre is being proposed at	Angamaly
Dakshayani Velayudhan Award	annual award in the honor of Dakshayani Velayudhan, empowering women in Kerala, announced by the Kerala Finance Minister Dr. Thomas Isaac in the 2019 Kerala Budget

Below is the list of First Women in Kerala

another important topic for GK exams – who was brave enough to do so, changed the history, and forged the path for the younger generation

First Woman in KeralaAdministration & GovernanceFirst Woman from Kerala to become part of the Union Government

Lakshmi Nanda Menon.(Deputy Minister, Ministry of External Affairs, 1957 - 1962)First Woman minister of Kerala –K. R. Gowri.(Revenue Minister,first Kerala Ministry in 1957)First Female law student coming from the Ezhava community –K. R. Gowri

First Woman Governor of Kerala*

Jothi Venkatachalam.(14 October 1977 - 26 October 1982)First Kerala Woman to become Governor of an Indian State –Fathima Beevi.(Tamil Nadu)First Woman to become an Elected member of any legislature in India–Thottakkadu Madhavi Amma.(Kochi Legislative Assembly, 1925)First Woman to become Deputy Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly –K. O. Aysha Bai.(6 May 1957 – 31 July 1959)First Protem Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly –Rosamma Punnoose

Longest-serving protem speaker

Rosamma Punnoose

First person to be sworn in as a member of the Kerala Legislative Assembly

Rosamma Punnoose

First MLA in India who lost seat following a court order

Rosamma Punnoose

The first person to be elected in the first-ever by-election to the Kerala Legislative Assembly in 1958

Rosamma Punnoose

First Woman MP(Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha)from Kerala

Annie Mascarene

First Malayali Woman to become Chief Minister of an Indian state*

Janaki Ramachandran(Tamil Nadu)

First and only Dalit woman to be elected to the Constituent Assembly in 1946

Dakshayani Velayudhan

First Scheduled Caste Woman Graduate in India

Dakshayani Velayudhan

First Scheduled Caste Woman Science Graduate

Dakshayani Velayudhan

First Scheduled Caste member of the Cochin Legislative Council

Dakshayani Velayudhan

First Woman from the Pulya community to wear an upper cloth

Dakshayani Velayudhan

First Woman Chief-Secretary of Kerala*

Padma Ramachandran

First Chairperson of Kerala Women's Commission*

Sugathakumari

First Woman to become the Vice-Chancellor of a University in Kerala*

Dr. Jancy James.(2004, Mahatma Gandhi University)First Woman Chief Engineer in the Public Works Department(PWD)in Kerala –P.K. Thresia.(1971)First Woman to become Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax Department–Sasikala Nair.(July 2020)First Malayali Woman of Indian Origin to become a minister in New Zealand–Priyanca Radhakrishnan.(2020)

First Woman to become Dafedar in Kerala Collectorates

K. Siji

Arts, Literature & EntertainmentFirst Woman to win Booker Prize*

Arundhati Roy(1997)

First Malayali Woman to receive Saraswati Samman

Balamani Amma("Nivedyam," 1995)

First Women’s Magazine in Malayalam

Keraleeya Suguna Bodhini(Trivandrum, 1886)

First Women’s Magazine Weekly in Malayalam discussing women's rights

Shrimati

First Women’s magazine weekly in Malayalam was published by

Anna Chandy

First Woman from Kerala to receive Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, a literary honor bestowed by the Sahitya Akademi

Balamani Amma(1994)

First Malayalam actress

P. K. Rosi(Vigathakumaran)

First Muslim film actress in Kerala

Nilambur Ayisha

First Film acted was

The Elephant Queen(Hindi)

First film in Malayalam

Kandam Becha Kottu

First Woman Film Director in Malayalam

Vijaya Nirmala

First woman to win the Kerala State film award for best director

Vidhu Vincent(Manhole, 2016)

First Woman to win the National award (Urvasi Award) for acting

Sarada(Thulabharam, 1968)

First Malayali Woman recipient of J.C Daniel Award

Aranmula Ponnamma

First Female singer from Kerala to be honored by House Of Commons, British Parliament, United Kingdom*

K.S. Chitra

First Keralite Woman who joined the Film & Television Institute of India

Jameela Malik

Awards & HonorsFirst Woman in Kerala to receive Padma Bhushan

Lakshmi Nanda Menon(1957, Public Affairs)

First Tribal Woman from Kerala to receive Padma Shri

Lakshmikutty(Kaani tribe, Thiruvananthapuram, 2018)

Judiciary & Armed ForcesFirst Kerala Woman Judge*

Anna Chandy(1937, District Judge (munsif) Travancore by the Dewan Sir CP Ramaswami Iyer)

First Woman Chief justice of Kerala High Court*

Sujata Manohar(April 1994)

FirstMalayaliWoman who became Kerala High Court Chief justice*

K.K. Usha(2000)

First Woman to be appointed as the judge of the Supreme Court*

Justice Meera Sahib Fatima Beevi(1989, Apex Court judges)

The First Muslim woman to get law degree in Travancore

Fatima Beevi

The first Muslim woman to hold the post of Munsiff, Magistrate, District Judge

Fatima Beevi

First Muslim Woman High Court Judge

Fatima Beevi

First Woman to be appointed as Magistrate*

Omana Kunjamma

Kerala's First Woman IPS Officer

R. Sreelekha

First WomanDGP of Kerala

R. Sreelekha

Kerala's First Woman Intelligence Chief

R. Sreelekha

The first woman to become superintendent of police in Kerala

R. Sreelekha

FirstMalayaliWoman to become DGP in an Indian State

Letika Saran(Tamil Nadu, 2010)

First Female Merchant Navy Captain*

Radhika Menon(2012)

First Woman Registrar General of Kerala High Court*

Sophy Thomas(May 25, 2020)

First Woman Excise Inspector of Kerala*

Sajitha O.(July 2020)

First Woman Helicopter Pilot in Indian Navy

Sub. Lt Anagha B Rajeev

First Malayali woman to join the Air Force through the Agnipath scheme

Megha Mukundan

Education, Science & TechnologyFirst Woman scientist to head a missile project in India

Tessy Thomas

First Woman Law Graduate in Kerala

Anna Chandy

First Female Surgeon General*

Mary Poonen Lukose(1938)

First Woman from Kerala to graduate in Medicine

Mary Poonen Lukose

First Malayali woman to become Vice Chancellor of an University*

Mariamma Varghese(University of Mumbai, 1996)

First woman Vice Chancellor of Kerala*

Prof. Dr. Jancy James(MG University)Sports & AdventureFirst Woman to qualify for Olympic Games*–Sini Abraham

First Indian woman to reach the semi-finals of an Olympic event*

Shiny Abraham(Wilson)

First Indian woman captain and flag bearer for Indian Contingent for 1996 Atlanta Olympics

Shiny Abraham(Wilson)

First Woman to reach the final of an Olympic event*

P.T. Usha

First Malayali woman to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games

Anju Bobby George

First Woman from Kerala to win the Arjuna Award

K.C. Elamma(1975, Volleyball)

First Keralite woman recipient of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna

K.M Beena Mol(2002, Athletics)

First Woman from Kerala to win an individual Gold medal at the Asian Games

M. D. Valsamma(400 m hurdles, 1982 New Delhi)

First Malayali woman selected in 'Indian Senior Woman Cricket Team' from Wayanad, Kerala

Minnumani

Kerala's first woman International Chess Master

Dr. Nimmi M. George

MiscellaneousFirst Woman Journalistof Kerala

Yasodha(Deshabhimani)

First Woman Saint of the Indian origin

Saint Alphonsa

First Woman Ordained Priest in Kerala

Marathakavalli David(1989)

First Woman from Kerala to appear on a Postal Stamp

Saint Alphonsa

First Woman Commercial Pilot of Kerala*

Jeni Jerome.**First-person to speak Malayalam in the UN General Assembly–Mata Amritanandamayi(2000).* First in India as well.**updated according to current statistics...📝SideNotesAutobiography of Anna Chandy–Atmakatha(1973)

Tessy Thomas

also known as‘Missile Woman of India’ & ‘Agniputri’

First person to get MLA seat following a court order

V.R. Krishna Iyer

Letika Saran

Second Female DGP of a state in India.DGP – Director General of Police

First Woman Saint of India

Gonsalo Garcia (born to a Portuguese father & an Indian mother inVasai near Mumbai,1556)

First Women-friendly panchayath in Kerala

Mararikulam South

First Vanitha (all women) Police Station in Kerala

Kozhikode City Vanitha Police Station(1973, inaugurated by Indira Gandhi)

First Ordained Woman in India

Reverend Sister Elizabeth Paul(1987)

Kerala's first International Women's Trade Centre is being proposed at

Angamaly

Dakshayani Velayudhan Award

annual award in the honor of Dakshayani Velayudhan, empowering women in Kerala, announced by the Kerala Finance Minister Dr. Thomas Isaac in the 2019 Kerala Budget

* Time-sensitive data — verify for latest information

First Woman in Kerala in Various Fields

Key Takeaway

First Woman in Kerala in Various Fields(83)

Continue Studying

First in Kerala – PART VII | Miscellaneous

First in Kerala – PART IV | Awards, Films & Sports

First in Kerala – PART II | Education, Press & Literature

First in Kerala – PART VI | Ancient History

First in Kerala – PART III | Science, Technology & Economy

First in Kerala – PART I | Administration & Judiciary