This rare picture features Anandi Gopal Joshi, Kei Okami and Sabat Islambooly -- the first women doctors of India, Japan and Syria respectively.
#BreakingBarriers #HealthHeroes #InspiringWomen #TrailblazingDoctors #WomenEmpowerment #womeninscience #HistoricalAchievements
#BreakingBarriers #HealthHeroes #InspiringWomen #TrailblazingDoctors #WomenEmpowerment #womeninscience #HistoricalAchievements
Alumni of the first women's medical college in the world, the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMCP), Anandi, Kei and Sabat became licensed doctors in the late 1800s when women in the United States still couldn't vote.
Anandi's story is the most well-known of all, as it became a novel and an award-winning play. She was married at 9 to a much older husband who believed she should be educated.
After experiencing the death of her child at the age of 10 due to the unavailability of medical care in India, she made the firm decision to pursue a career in medicine.
Anandi realized that one of the reasons why women and newborns suffered so much during childbirth was because they refused to accept care from male gynaecologists due to societal norms.
Although she died at the age of 21 and did not get to practice after getting her license, she was the inspiration for the emergence of women healthcare professionals in India.
Sabat moved to Cairo after graduation, and the college lost touch with her soon after.
Sabat moved to Cairo after graduation, and the college lost touch with her soon after.
Meanwhile, Kei headed a gynaecology unit in a Tokyo Hospital but resigned when the Emperor did not respect her enough as a doctor because she was a woman.
These three courageous doctors triggered a gender revolution in the healthcare profession worldwide.
These three courageous doctors triggered a gender revolution in the healthcare profession worldwide.
Here's an excerpt from Anandi's letter to the Superintendent of the Medical College of Pennsylvania.
“(The) determination which has brought me to your country against the combined opposition of my friends and caste ought to go a long way towards helping me to carry out the purpose for which I came,
i.e. to render to my poor suffering country women the true medical aid they so badly need & which they would rather die than accept at the hands of a male physician. The voice of humanity is with me & I must not fail. My soul is moved to help the many who cannot help themselves."
[ Anandi Gopal Joshi, Rare Pic, Breaking Barriers, Inspiring Women, Women Doctors ]
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