LADY DOCTORS BY KAVITHA RAO

This book has to be the best non fiction work I have read so far. It is a compilation of the fighting and inspiring stories of six different Indian women in the field of medicine. This book is the biography of the greatest women doctors starting from Anandibai Joshi, kadambini Ganguly, Rukhmabai Raut, Haimabati Sen, Muthulakshmi Reddy to Mary Poonam Lukose.

This book was inspiring throughout.

I was pained to read their struggles of being trapped in child marriage, how men thought women entering medicine is a threat, how some of them were called names, how they had to face racism, their difficulty in handling both family and duties, getting rejected for positions even when they were better qualified than men.

I had tears of joy reading how they crossed all these odds to reach where they were meant to be.

PROS: It’s highly inspirational. If you are looking for an inspiring non fiction book, then this is a must read.

It’s a well researched book. The facts and biographies have been taken either from their personal diaries or their autobiographical works or people who had known them.

Truly feministic - shows how women had to face criticism from both men and women just to go out and study. And few of them were supported by men around them. The villain fought here is the cultural norms and not written against any specific gender.

CONS: I vaguely remember somewhere in the book it was mentioned that women doctors today have it easy. NO! Absolutely not. The struggle is still there, only that we are being supported by many others unlike those days.

Majority of the book spoke only about Hindu customs and how Hindu women fought against them except for Mary Poonam Lukose. I would be happy to see another biography without any religious restrictions including women doctors from all communities fighting their own battles.

Except for this teeny tiny bit, I found this book to be amazing.

MY REVEIEW: 4.5/5

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