Women in Medicine

"Women in Medicine" – is the name of the project, which aspires to compile Georgian printed periodical publications of the second half of the XIX century ("Droeba," "Iveria," "Tsnobis Purtseli") and to collect archival materials on women's contribution to the healthcare affairs.

The Georgian press of this period is an important historical source. Magazines and newspapers of that time have preserved abundant and manifold materials on various issues of public life.

It should be noted that the press, among other topics, used to reflect women's participation in healthcare actively. Reporters were interested not only in current events taking place in Georgia but also in all the world news. The format of the materials is different; there are small articles and announcements and reviews, and analytical publications.

• One part of the articles presented in the booklet is entirely dedicated to medical issues, while the other part highlights the topics of our interest in fragments. In such a case, we emphasize the part related to the medical field. In the given booklet, the material is presented in chronological order, keeping to that period’s print language and style, in non-modified form. There are also visual inserts that can be found in processed magazines and newspapers. The period of our survey covers the years 1866-1909. The collected materials reveal several key trends:

• Female doctors in Georgia and abroad (brief references, histories, statements, medical community reports, etc.);

• Women’s educational, medical institutions in Georgia and abroad;

• Involvement of women in academic/scientific and practical activities (in the field of medicine);

• Accessibility of healthcare for women;

• Other materials related to the topic (advertisements, etc.);

The archival articles clearly show the problems related to the above issues and the challenges, successes, and achievements relevant to the period. The reasoning and conclusions presented in the introductory article are entirely based on the materials of the Georgian press; in this section, we will briefly discuss the topics / main issues of the materials collected in the booklet.