Susie Sorabji

Susie Sorabji (1868 – 15 March 1931) was an Indian educator and Christian missionary.

Susie Sorabji, from a 1905 publication.
Susie Sorabji, from a 1901 publication.

Early life

Sorabji was born in Sholapur, Maharashtra,[1] one of the seven daughters of Reverend Sorabji Karsedji, a Parsi Christian missionary, and Francina Ford, a convert from Hinduism who had been adopted and raised by a British couple. Her mother established several girls' schools at Pune.[2] Susie Sorabji was educated at Bombay University.[3] Sorabji's sisters included law pioneer Cornelia Sorabji and physician Alice Maude Sorabji Pennell.

Career

Susie Sorabji followed her mother into educational work,[4] and (despite lifelong frail health) traveled widely, attending international conferences,[5] lecturing[6] and meeting with potential donors,[7] to raise awareness and funding for the girls' school in Pune.[3] "I am pleading for my sisters, the gentlest, meekest, most neglected in the civilized world," she declared of her cause.[8]

She started a kindergarten, and trained kindergarten teachers for work in other Indian schools. "I had to fight against the government inspector when I first started the kindergarten," she recalled, "but now the system has been made compulsory in the government schools."[2] She also did literacy and missionary work among Indian women living in zenana spaces.[9] She supported the temperance movement and Girl Guides of India,[10] and, along with other members of her family, opposed the Indian independence movement.[11]

Personal life

Susie Sorabji had chronic health issues, including vision problems which were treated with surgeries, medication, and extended periods of bandaging and rest.[12] Sorabji died in 1931, aged 63 years. Her sister Cornelia Sorabji wrote a biographical memoir, Susie Sorabji, Christian-Parsee Educationist of Western India: A Memoir (London: Oxford University Press 1932).[13] A street in Pune was named for Susie Sorabji in 1932.[12]

There is a Susie Sorabji Auditorium at St. Helena High School in Pune, named in her memory.[14] The school marks her death date (15 March) as its "Founder's Day", performing a play about her life and distributing food to local charity organizations.[15]

There is a chapter of the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire in Uxbridge, Ontario, named for Susie Sorabji.[16]

References
  1. Eunice De Souza, Lindsay Pereira, eds., Women's Voices: Selections from Nineteenth and Early-Twentieth Century Indian Writing in English (Oxford University Press 2004): 95. ISBN 9780195667851
  2. "A Group of Brilliant Women" The Westminster (24 June 1905): 17.
  3. Delevan L. Pearson, "Some Modern Indian Idealists" The Chautauquan (October 1905): 149-152.
  4. "Hindoo Evangelist Speaks" Boston Post (30 September 1901): 6. via Newspapers.com
  5. Susie Sorabji, "Education of Women in India" New York Observer (10 August 1905): 186-188.
  6. Susie Sorabji, "A Vision of the Future Women of India" Life and Light for Woman (April 1914): 162.
  7. "Miss Gould's Gift to Miss Sorabji" New York Observer (11 January 1906): 36.
  8. Deborah Anna Logan, The Indian Ladies' Magazine, 1901–1938: From Raj to Swaraj (Rowman & Littlefield 2017): 155. ISBN 9781611462227
  9. Jessie A. Fowler, "A Mental Photograph of Miss Susie Sorabji, of India" The Phrenological Journal and Science of Health (October 1905): 312-317.
  10. "Castes Eliminated by Scout Growth in India" Evening News (8 April 1924): 13. via Newspapers.com
  11. Tim Allender, Learning Femininity in Colonial India, 1820-1932 (Oxford University Press 2016): 260. ISBN 9781784996987
  12. Sorabji, Richard (2010). Opening Doors: The Untold Story of Cornelia Sorabji, Reformer, Lawyer and Champion of Women's Rights in India. Penguin Books India. ISBN 9781848853751.
  13. Cornelia Sorabji, Susie Sorabji, Christian-Parsee Educationist of Western India: A Memoir (Oxford University Press 1932).
  14. The Susie Sorabji Auditorium (St. Helena School) Pune, Venues, Eventful.com.
  15. "St Helena's High School Celebrates Founder's Day" Times of India (21 March 2011).
  16. "Uxbridge Pays Tribute to 75-year Organization" Durham Region (24 May 2009).
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