Maniammai
Maniammai (10 March 1917 – 16 March 1978) from Tamil Nadu. She was the wife of Periyar E. V. Ramasamy succeeded him as the leader of the Dravidar Kazhagamupon his death in 1973. She is considered the first woman political leader from the state. Maniammai was born as Gandhimathi to Kanagasabai Mudaliar who was a party member of the Justice Party. Soon after her father’s death, she joined the Dravidar Kazhagam founded by Periyar E. V. Ramasamy in 1942–43. She was Periyar’s second wife, a controversial marriage in 1948 that is believed to have caused a split in the Dravidar Kazhagam, the organization born out of Periyar’s self-respect and justice movement that aimed to eradicate the perceived degraded status imposed on Dravidians. The split is widely regarded as a turning point in Tamil Nadu politics when prominent leaders such as CN Annadurai and EVK Sampath left the movement to join politics and form a new party.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maniammai
