Isala Van Diest (7 May 1842 – 9 February 1916) was the first female

medical doctor 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 study, diagnosis, prognosis ...

and the first female university graduate in Belgium.

Early life and education

Anne Catherine Albertine Isala Van Diest was born in

Louvain Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the sub-municipalities of ...

, Belgium, 7 May 1842. She was the daughter of an open-minded surgeon and obstetrician, Pierre Joseph Van Diest. Van Diest and her sisters received the same education as their brother. Their mother also took them on a trip to England, where they came into contact with the progressive environment. Secondary high schools were not yet at that time available to girls in Belgium, so Van Diest travelled to Bern, Switzerland to prepare for university. She returned to Belgium in 1873 and attempted to register with the Medical Faculty of the

Catholic University of Louvain The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, but was hampered by the refusal of the Roman Catholic religious hierarchy, who suggested to her that she instead become a

midwife A midwife (: midwives) is a health professional who cares for mothers and Infant, newborns around childbirth, a specialisation known as midwifery. The education and training for a midwife concentrates extensively on the care of women throughou ...

. She refused this proposal and returned to Bern, since the Swiss universities were the first of Europe to open up to women and she could pursue medical studies there. She graduated in 1879.

Career

Van Diest practised her profession for two years in England, where women doctors were free to practise since 1866. She was attached to the ''

New Hospital for Women The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson and Obstetric Hospital and its predecessor organisations provided health care to women in central London from the mid-Victorian era. It was named after Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, one of Britain's first female physi ...

'', and during the time she met many British

feminists Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

. She once again returned to Belgium, however, to be able to have her medical qualifications recognized, she was forced to complete additional courses at the Free University of Brussels, open to women since 1880. It then took a

Royal Decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, royal figure, or other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary l ...

in 1884, in order to be allowed to open her own medical practice in Brussels. Many of her patients came from the upper classes of Brussels society, but she also treated pensioners at a nursing home for elderly prostitutes and fought for better treatment for prostitutes. A feminist, she founded the Belgian Women's Rights League (''

Ligue belge du droit des femmes The Belgian League for the Rights of Women () was a political association founded in Belgium in 1892. Established by Marie Popelin and her lawyer Louis Frank (lawyer), Louis Frank, it was created in response to the refusal to allow Popelin, a law ...

'') with

Marie Popelin Marie Popelin (16 December 1846 – 5 June 1913) was a Belgian jurist and early feminist political campaigner. Popelin worked with Isabelle Gatti de Gamond in the development of women's education and, in 1888, became the first Belgian woman to r ...

, the first Belgian woman to receive a degree in law. In 1902, progressively losing her eyesight, she ended her professional activities and moved to

Knokke Knokke () is a town in the municipality of Knokke-Heist, which is located in the province of West Flanders in Flanders, Belgium. The town itself has 15,708 inhabitants (2007), while the municipality of Knokke-Heist has 33,818 inhabitants (2009). ...

, where she passed her final years.

Death and legacy

She died in

, Belgium, 9 February 1916. Van Diest and Marie Popelin were together depicted on the

2 euro commemorative coin €2 commemorative coins are special euro coins that have been minted and issued by member states of the eurozone since 2004 as legal tender in all eurozone member states. €2 coins are the only denomination intended for circulation that may ...

, 5 million of which were minted in 2011 by the National Bank of Belgium on the occasion of the centenary of

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

. In Belgium, this was the first time that women who were not part of the royal family appeared on a piece of Belgian money.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Diest, Isala Belgian women physicians Belgian feminists Belgian expatriates in Switzerland 1842 births 1916 deaths 19th-century Belgian physicians University of Bern alumni 19th-century women physicians First women physicians

Early life and education

Career

Death and legacy

See also

References