National Women’s Health Day, India Part 1

 



I am a bit delayed writing about an important day. 

February 26th is declared as National Women’s Health Day by the Government of India ! This day marks the death anniversary of Anandibai Joshi, the first woman from India to get a medical degree in the USA. 


 To me this is an important topic for conversation and has multiple facets. So instead of me making a very long post I will discuss it in three parts as follows:

The life and legacy of Dr Anandibai Joshi!

What it means to be a woman physician today!

Significance of marking a day to celebrate Women’s Health !


In an era when women were almost prohibited from attending school, let alone go to college or abroad, Anandibai was fortunate to be married to a man who not only believed in women’s education but was proactive in making his wife study abroad and pursue her dream of becoming a physician. 


It was indeed a different era when she was born. 1865! Exactly a hundred years before I was born! It was normal practice at the time for girls to be married before puberty. She was married at age 9 to a man 20 years older than her. By age 14 she was pregnant with her first child but the baby did not survive beyond a few days due to lack of adequate medical care. This traumatized her young, sensitive mind greatly. The urge to become a doctor entered her mind after this incident. Her husband was a progressive thinker. During times when men thwarted any attempt of women to gain education or financial independence he took it upon himself to let her pursue education. Starting with studies of Sanskrit and English she began to seek opportunities to enter medical school. Most western universities asked her to convert to Christianity to avail of admission and scholarship. Of course this wasn’t an acceptable option for her or her husband. Finally with the help from some contacts she was accepted into the Women’s Medical Collge of Pennsylvania in 1883. She was barely 19 years of age at the time. Even after being accepted to the institution she had to overcome societal hurdles to travel abroad. A personal speech she made to explain the purpose of her education and the adherence to her religion and culture while living outside the country changed the opposition to support from many quarters including the then Viceroy of India who personally contributed towards the fund for her education and stay in the USA.


It was no easy life for a saree clad woman who lived on a strict vegetarian diet to survive the harsh winters In Pennsylvania while striving for perfection in a grueling training to become a physician. With sheer determination and utmost dedication and hard work she completed her education as well as a thesis and graduated with the medical degree of MD in just two years. Her husband attended her graduation with great pride. 


She returned to India in 1886 and was appointed as chief of department of women’s health at Albert Edward Hospital in Kolhapur. Unfortunately her health had begun declining even as she was studying in the USA and despite all medication, it continued to spiral downward. She was diagnosed with tuberculosis and succumbed to it before her 22nd birthday. February 26th 1887 she breathed her last.


The struggle to rise from a young child bride to a foreign trained physician, overcoming every possible hurdle in the way, her personal sacrifices as well as those of her family, sadly did not culminate in meaningful results to put to use for the society for much length of time. Yet she became the torch bearer for several women after her to pursue their dreams! Indeed she had opened the doors to wider possibilities. Books have been written and movies made to celebrate her life and highlight her achievements. Her ashes are memorialized in Poughkeepsie in upstate New York by her friend and mentor Theodicia Carpenter. It is a shrine for women like me who owe homage to her for allowing us to take the path she took, albeit with much less difficulty.

A hand spun, hand woven cotton saree in classic white with red borders , representing the colors of medical profession. 


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