Marie Thomas
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Maria Emilia Thomas (17 February 1896 – 10 October 1966), or better known as Marie Thomas, was the first Indonesian woman to become a physician. She received her diploma from the School of Training of Native Physicians (STOVIA or ''School tot Opleiding van Indische Artsen'') in 1922. She went on to specialize 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 ...
and is considered the first Indonesian doctor to specialize in this field. She also established a midwifery school in
Bukittinggi Bukittinggi (, Jawi script, Jawi: , formerly ) is the third largest city in West Sumatra, Indonesia, with a population of 111,312 in 2010Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 121,028 in 2020.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2021. An official es ...
.


Biography

Marie Thomas was born on 17 February 1896 in Likupang, which is located in the region of
Minahasa The Minahasans or Minahassa are an Austronesian people, Austronesian ethnic group native to North Sulawesi province of Indonesia, formerly known as North Celebes. The Minahasa people sometimes refer to themselves as Manado people. Although the M ...
in
North Sulawesi North Sulawesi () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is mainly located on the Minahasa Peninsula of the island of Sulawesi, south of the Philippines and southeast of Sabah, Malaysia, but also includes various small archipel ...
. Her parents were Adriaan Thomas and Nicolina Maramis. Her father had a career in the military, which required the family to constantly move to different locations in Indonesia. This, however, allowed Thomas to attend various schools from
Sulawesi Sulawesi ( ), also known as Celebes ( ), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the List of islands by area, world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Min ...
to
Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
. STOVIA did not initially accept women, but the policy changed due in part to the efforts of
Aletta Jacobs Aletta Henriëtte Jacobs (; 9 February 1854 – 10 August 1929) was a Dutch physician and women's suffrage activist. As the first woman officially to attend a Dutch university, she became one of the first female physicians in the Netherlands. I ...
(the first female physician in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
). When Jacobs visited Indonesia (or the
Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (; ), was a Dutch Empire, Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, declared independence on 17 Au ...
at the time) in 1911, she pressed the issue with then Governor-General A.W.F. Idenburg. After women were allowed to enroll, a further hurdle existed where they could not be employed by Civil Medical Service (''Burgerlijke geneeskundige dienst'') and therefore had to pay for their studies at STOVIA. In this case, it was Aletta's sister, Charlotte Jacobs (the first female to obtain a degree in
pharmacology Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur betwee ...
in the Netherlands), who helped establish a foundation to raise funds for female students attending STOVIA. The foundation was established on 1 September 1912 with the help of Marie van Zeggelen and Elisabeth van Deventer. The foundation that they formed was the Society to Form a Study Fund for Training Female Native Doctors (SOVIA or ''Vereeniging tot Vorming van een Studiefonds voor Opleiding van Vrouwelijke Inlandsche Artsen''). Thomas entered STOVIA in September 1912 and was supported by the SOVIA foundation. At the time of her enrollment, Marie was the only female student among around 200 male students. It was not until two years later did the school accept a second female student by the name of Anna Warouw who was also from the region of Minahasa. Thomas completed her studies at STOVIA in 1922 and was acknowledged as the first female graduate of STOVIA. She then started her medical practice at the main hospital in Batavia (now
Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
) called Centrale Burgerlijke Ziekeninrichting (CBZ) (now Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital). She would subsequently work in
Medan Medan ( , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sumatra. The nearby Strait of Malacca, Port of Belawan, and Kualanamu International Airport make Medan a regional hub and multi ...
,
Manado Manado (, ) is the capital City status in Indonesia, city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sulawesi. It is the second largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar, with the 2020 census giving a population of 451,916,Badan ...
, and back to Batavia at Budi Kemuliaan Hospital, a hospital established by the SOVIA foundation. Thomas at one point became an assistant to Nicolaas Boerma, a Dutch physician who specialized in obstetrics. She was one of the first doctors to deal with
birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth control only be ...
and intrauterine devices. Thomas married Mohammad Joesoef who was also a physician on 16 March 1929. They subsequently moved to
Padang Padang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of West Sumatra. It had a population of 833,562 at the 2010 CensusBiro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. and 909,040 at the 2020 Census;Bad ...
in West Sumatra where Mohammad came from. In Padang, she took a position in the Public Health Service (DVG or ''Dienst der Volksgezondheid''). They returned to Batavia after a few years in Padang. In Batavia, Thomas became involved with the Minahasa Unity party (''Persatuan Minahasa'') whose members included
Sam Ratulangi Gerungan Saul Samuel Jacob Ratulangi (also written as ''Ratu Langie''; 5 November 1890 – 30 June 1949), known as Sam Ratulangi, was a Minahasan teacher, journalist, politician, and National Hero of Indonesia, national hero from North Sulawesi, ...
. Thomas and her husband eventually returned to West Sumatra, this time settling in
Fort de Kock Fort de Kock was a 19th-century Dutch sconce fortification established over a hill in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, Indonesia. Around the fortification, a new settlement grew, which eventually grew into the city of Bukittinggi, the second largest c ...
(now Bukittinggi). In 1950, she founded a midwifery school in Bukittinggi, which was the first in Sumatra and the second in Indonesia. Thomas died on 10 October 1966, due to
intracerebral hemorrhage Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), also known as hemorrhagic stroke, is a sudden bleeding into Intraparenchymal hemorrhage, the tissues of the brain (i.e. the parenchyma), into its Intraventricular hemorrhage, ventricles, or into both. An ICH is ...
.


Tributes

On 17 February 2021, Google celebrated Marie Thomas' 125th birthday with a
Google Doodle Google Doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and historical figures. The first Google Doodle honored the 1998 edition of the long-running annual Bu ...
.


See also

* List of first female physicians by country


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Marie 20th-century women physicians 1896 births 1966 deaths Indonesian Christians Indonesian Protestants Indo people Minahasa people STOVIA alumni