"The realization that to make my place in the field of medicine, I need to prove my competence time and again, work twice as hard, and fight more battles has made me nurture big ambitions. It has fueled me with the drive to achieve them, no matter what or who holds me back."
AUGUST 2021 : Pune, Maharashtra
“Upon the delivery of a girl child, the father’s hesitancy to sign the required forms gave me a gut-wrenching reality check. Away from my sheltered world, existed a whole other one, where women were still subclass human beings.
Women in medicine have come tremendously far, with the numbers rising from 28% in 2007 to 36% last year, according to the latest report. I was blessed to have received every opportunity I did without facing many prejudices and stereotypes. However, this journey has made me realize that we as a society, have a long-long way ahead.
Women in medicine have it tougher. We are often addressed as ‘sister’ rather than doctor, because it doesn’t strike a patient that a woman wearing a lab coat could be a senior doctor. The truth is - medicine is perceived as a man's profession, and that makes me realize that I need to work twice as hard as men do, to be taken seriously. Something which is a given with male doctors.
The realization that to make my place in the field of medicine, I need to prove my competence time and again, work twice as hard, and fight more battles has made me nurture big ambitions. It has fueled me with the drive to achieve them, no matter what or who holds me back.
It’s often said ‘behind every successful woman is a tribe of other successful women who have her back’, I truly believe in this. My grandmother and mother were encouraged to attend school, defying the disapproving orthodox neighbors at that time. The ripples reached me, as well, with my mother inspiring me to be whoever I wanted to be. I chose to take after her, and become a doctor myself. I’m now a second year Pathology Resident at Smt. Kashibai Navale Medical College.”
