Miriam Mutebi, Breast Surgical Oncologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the Aga Khan University Hospital shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Back in 2012, I was one of four women trained in general surgery in Kenya since the 1950s.
Today, I’m watching a 15-year-old girl in a Nairobi classroom consider surgery for the first time, because she saw a Pan African Women’s Association of Surgeons (PAWAS) member present research at her school. That moment is exactly why I helped start PAWAS in 2015.
Yesterday was International Women’s Day, and that young girl in a Nairobi classroom is the most honest celebration of the day I know. Representation doesn’t just inspire. It makes the impossible suddenly imaginable. That girl doesn’t know it yet, but she’s the answer to the question we’ve been asking ever since: How do we move Africansurgery from less than 5% women to 50% by 2035?
The answer is her. And you. And every woman who decides that surgery is possible because she finally saw someone who looks like her holding a scalpel. What I want that 15-year-old to know; and what I want you to know:
you don’t need permission to take up space. The operating room isn’t a men’s club you’re trying to join. It’s a space where healing happens, and healing needs diverse hands, diverse perspectives, diverse experiences.
Your differences aren’t deficits. Your empathy isn’t weakness. Your questions aren’t insubordination. Your refusal to accept ‘that’s just how we do things’ isn’t troublemaking, it’s leadership waiting to happen. The barriers remain. But they’re not insurmountable. Every time you walk into an OR, you’re expanding what’s possible for every girl who comes after you.
That 15-year-old girl in Nairobi didn’t need a hashtag. She needed a mirror. And PAWAS is building it.
- Are you the medical student wondering if surgery is possible?
- The resident looking for mentorship?
- The established surgeon seeking community?
- The 15-year-old who just realized surgery might be an option?
Visit our website today.
Q: What made you realize you could do something you once thought was impossible?”
Other articles featuring Miriam Mutebi on OncoDaily.
