Pakistani Women Hit Hurdles in Medical Profession

Many women in Pakistan qualify to become doctors, and then do not practice. Credit: Fahim Siddiqi/IPS.By Beena SarwarBOSTON, United States, Mar 8 2014 (IPS) On one of her many visits to Pakistan recently, Sarah Peck, director of the US-Pakistan Women’s Council, spent some time talking to young women medical students in Pakistan. She was struck by their passion and commitment — and by the hurdles they face. Left to right, medical student Saima Firdous, Dr Jamila Khalil, Sarah Peck, Dr Khalil Khatri Credit: Beena Sarwar The US-Pakistan Women’s Council is working with expatriate Pakistani doctors to find ways to encourage women qualifying as doctors in Pakistan to practice medicine. Women outnumber male students in medical colleges across Pakistan, forming up to 85 percent of the student body in private universities and 65 percent in the public sector. But only about half of them end up working as doctors. There are no nationwide figures for this estimate, but the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council’s records show the discrepancy between the number of women medical students and women doctors in Pakistan. Less than half the 138,789 doctors registered with this nationwide body are women, 62,315. For specialists, the numbers are even lower – of the total 29,914 specialists registered with PMDC, only 8,056 are women. The pattern is also visible in doctors from Pakistan coming to the United States. “When doctor couples come here, the husband starts to work, the wife t...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: Global & Universal Authors: Tags: Active Citizens Asia-Pacific Civil Society Featured Gender Headlines Health Labour North America Women & Economy Women's Health Pakistan United States US-Pakistan Women's Council women doctors Source Type: news