Elizabeth Bielby was a nineteenth-century
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
physician
A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...
and medical
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...
. She petitioned
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
for a women's medical service for
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and was instrumental in the foundation of the
Countess of Dufferin Fund The Countess of Dufferin Fund was established by Hariot Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava, more commonly known as Lady Dufferin, in 1885 and was dedicated to improving women's healthcare in India. The Fund was founded afte ...
.
She was affiliated to the
Zenana Bible and Medical Mission and arrived in
Lucknow
Lucknow () is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the largest city of the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and it is the administrative headquarters of the epon ...
in 1876. In 1881, the
Maharaja
Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...
of Punna asked Bielby, then undertaking medical missionary work in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
, to come and treat his wife, the Maharani, who was ill. Bielby agreed and the Maharini soon recovered.
On the morning of Bielby's departure to England, the Maharaja asked her to visit Queen Victoria with a message,
"I want you to tell the Queen and the Prince and Princess of Wales, the men and women of England, what the women of India suffer when they are sick. Write he messagesmall, Doctor Miss Sahib, for I want you to put it into a locket, and you are to wear this locket round your neck till you see our Great Queen and give it to her yourself. You are not to send it through another."
After completing her medical training at the
London School of Medicine for Women
The London School of Medicine for Women (LSMW) established in 1874 was the first medical school in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Britain to train women as doctors. The patrons, vice-presidents, and members of the committee that supp ...
, Bielby and
Mary Scharlieb, the first female British doctor to practice in India, were received by the Queen. Bielby presented her with the locket from the Maharani of Punna.
In response, Queen Victoria wrote back to the Maharani saying:
“We had no idea it was as bad as this. Something must be done for the poor creatures. We wish it generally known that we sympathize with every effort to relieve the suffering of the women of India.”
The Queen then summoned
, more commonly known as
Lady Dufferin, the
Vicerine of India, to
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...
and tasked her with improving healthcare and education for the women of India. In 1885, Lady Dufferin set up the Countess of Dufferin Fund which provided scholarships for women to be educated as
doctor
Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to:
Titles and occupations
* Physician, a medical practitioner
* Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree
** Doctorate
** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...
s, hospital assistants,
nurses
Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...
, and
midwives
A midwife (: midwives) is a health professional who cares for mothers and newborns around childbirth, a specialisation known as midwifery.
The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughout their ...
. It also financed the construction of female hospitals, dispensaries, and female only wards in preexisting hospitals. In 1886, Bielby was practising and teaching midwifery to female students at a lying-in hospital at Lahore, with the intention of establishing further women's hospitals in India.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bielby, Elizabeth
English Protestant missionaries
19th-century English medical doctors
19th-century English women medical doctors
Christian medical missionaries
Female Christian missionaries