Jerusha Jacob Jhirad FRCOG, MBE (21 March 1891 – 2 June 1984) was an Indian physician.Sharon Kirsh, Florence Kirsh (2002). ''Fabulous Female Physicians''. Second Story Press. . pp. 40-48

Early life and education

Jhirad was born in

Shivamogga Shimoga, officially Shivamogga, is a city and the district headquarters of Shimoga district in the Karnataka state of India. The city lies on the banks of the Tunga River. Being the gateway for the hilly region of the Western Ghats, the city ...

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. She was a member of the

Bene Israel The Bene Israel (), also referred to as the "Teli, Shanivar Teli" () or "History of the Jews in India, Native Jew" caste, are a community of Jews in India. It has been suggested that they are the descendants of one of the Ten Lost Tribes via t ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

community. She attended high school in

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

, then

Grant Medical College The Grant Government Medical College is a public university, public medical school, medical college located in Mumbai, India. It is affiliated to the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences. Founded in 1845, it is one of the oldest medical co ...

in Bombay, where she became a Licentiate in Medicine and Surgery with an L.M.S. diploma in 1912. She was the first woman to be granted a scholarship by the Indian government to study abroad. In England she studied at the London School of Medicine for Women (based at the

Royal Free Hospital The Royal Free Hospital (also known as the Royal Free) is a major teaching hospital in the Hampstead area of the London Borough of Camden. The hospital is part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs services at Barnet Ho ...

), re-qualified as a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (

MB BS A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

) of the University of London in 1917 and went on to a doctorate (

M.D. A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

) in 1919 in Midwifery and Diseases of Women. Specializing in

obstetrics and gynaecology Obstetrics and gynaecology (also spelled as obstetrics and gynecology; abbreviated as Obst and Gynae, O&G, OB-GYN and OB/GYN) is the medical specialty that encompasses the two subspecialties of obstetrics (covering pregnancy, childbirth, and ...

she worked as a House Surgeon at the

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital 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 phys ...

in London in 1917 and at the Birmingham Maternity Hospital in 1918 before returning to India.

Career

While she was studying in England during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Jhirad was an obstetric assistant and house surgeon at the

in London, and house surgeon at a maternity hospital in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. Back in India by 1920, she was briefly an obstetrician at the Lady Hardinge Hospital in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. From 1920 to 1924, she was medical officer-in-charge at the maternity hospital in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

. From 1925 to 1928 she was on the staff of the Cama Hospital in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, where she served as medical officer-in-charge in 1929 to 1947. Jhirad was appointed a justice of the peace in 1931. In 1934 she provided medical assistance to survivors of an earthquake in

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

. In 1937 and 1938 she made a statistical study of

maternal mortality Maternal death or maternal mortality is defined in slightly different ways by several different health organizations. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines maternal death as the death of a pregnant mother due to complications related to p ...

in Bombay.Jhirad, Jerusha
"Report on an investigation into the causes of maternal mortality in the city of Bombay."
Health Bulletin No. 29 (1941). She was a founding member and president of the Bombay Obstetric and Gynaecological Society'','' and president of the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI). and from 1947 to 1957 president of the Association of Medical Women in India (AMWI). She wrote in favor of sex education and healthy recreational options to limit unplanned pregnancies. In 1950 she presided at the 6th All India Obstetric and Gynaecological Congress, held in

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

. Jhirad was also a pioneer of

Progressive Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous rev ...

; after attending mixed-gender prayers at the Jewish Religious Union (JRU), she returned to Mumbai and founded a JRU-affiliated congregation among the Bene Israel with her sister Leah in 1925.

Selected publications

* "Medico-social work" (1929) * "Maternal Mortality" (1936) * "Report on an investigation into the causes of maternal mortality in the city of Bombay." (1941) * "Uterine Inversion" (1946) * "Women in the Medical Profession" (1960) * "Practical aspects of birth control" (1963) * "Role of legalization of abortions in population control" (1964) * "Careers for Medical Women in India" (1964) * "Ante-natal diagnosis" (1966) * "Obstetrics Then and Now" (1968)

Honours

In 1945, Jhirad was awarded an MBE by the British government. In 1947, she was elected a Fellow of the

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) is a professional association based in London, United Kingdom. Its members, including people with and without medical degrees, work in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, that is ...

. In 1966, she was awarded the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

. The Venusian crater Jhirad was named after her.

Personal life

Jhirad wrote a short autobiography in 1975, which informed her niece's biography of her, ''A Dream Realised: Biography of Dr Jerusha J. Jhirad'' (1990). She died in 1984, aged 93 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jhirad, Jerusha 1891 births 1984 deaths 20th-century Indian women scientists 20th-century Indian medical doctors Recipients of the Padma Shri in medicine Bene Israel Liberal Judaism (United Kingdom) Medical doctors from Mumbai Jewish scientists 20th-century Indian women medical doctors Jewish women scientists Jewish physicians Indian justices of the peace Indian obstetricians Indian gynaecologists People from Shimoga district 20th-century Indian Jews Members_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire