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Law

M. Fathima Beevi

Her life

Born in Pathanamthitta, Kerala, in 1927, Fathima Beevi studied law at a time when very few women did, and enrolled as an advocate in 1950.

She rose through the courts of Kerala and in 1989 became the first woman judge of the Supreme Court of India, and the first Muslim woman in any country's highest court. She later served as Governor of Tamil Nadu and died in 2023.

Achievements

  • ✦First woman judge of the Supreme Court of India, 1989
  • ✦Later served as Governor of Tamil Nadu

On the timeline

1989

Justice M. Fathima Beevi becomes the first woman judge of the Supreme Court.

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