The politics of gender and medicine in colonial India: the Countess of Dufferin's Fund, 1885-1888.

TLDR: The relationship of gender issues and the practice of medicine in the context of colonialism as revealed through an analysis of the Dufferin Fund in India is examined.

Abstract: This article examines the relationship of gender issues and the practice of medicine in the context of colonialism as revealed through an analysis of the Dufferin Fund in India. Early private efforts to deliver Western health care in India were confined to combatting disease among the military and to the work of a few missionaries. The Dufferin Fund was created by Queen Victoria to provide health services to Indian women by training women physicians and personnel establishing medical facilities and providing female nurses and midwives. Fund-raising subscriptions were largely supported by wealthy Indians. British perceptions about Indian society and the nature of colonial rule were reflected by the Fund which responded to the misguided notion that Indian women would only accept the services of female physicians. In contrast with British officialdom however the Fund accepted the existence of purdah although the multifaceted nature of this social institution was ignored or misunderstood. These positions buttressed arguments to promote the medical training of English women (who would be shipped out of the way to India). The positions also assigned blame for the poor condition of Indian women to Indian men who were nonetheless expected to support the work of the Fund. British opposition to traditional forms of medicine were evident by the Funds vociferous criticisms of Indian midwives. The Fund was criticized in turn for relying on trained Western women instead of training native women. When Lord Dufferins stint as Viceroy was over praise was lavished upon the departing Lady Dufferin as a proxy used by the Indian press for expressing a desire for a more humanitarian style of colonial rule. From the colonial point of view Lady Dufferin set an example for the good works of the future vicereines. However any accomplishments of the Fund were adopted by the imperial government as its own and insufficient funding and inactivity led to a loss in the Funds ability to function. In fact the existence of the Fund impeded later efforts which may have been more in line with the real needs of Indias women. The importance of the Fund to the British lay in its representation of the alleged superiority of British gender relations and health practices its involvement of the Indian elite in British-type philanthropy and its role in fostering the medical training of English women.