The first woman to be elected to a national office in India was Sarojini Naidu. She gained prominence as a prominent freedom fighter and a key figure in the Indian National Congress. In 1930, she was elected as the first female president of the Indian National Congress and later became the first woman to serve as a governor of an Indian state, Uttar Pradesh, after independence in 1947. Naidu's work as a poet, politician, and activist made her a significant symbol of women's empowerment in India.