Isala Van Diest

Isala Van Diest was the first female medical doctor and the first female university graduate in Belgium. The daughter of an open-minded surgeon and obstetrician, Isala Van Diest and her sisters received the same education as their brother. Their mother also took them on a trip to England, where they came into contact with the progressive environment. Secondary high schools were not yet at that time available to girls in Belgium, so Isala travelled to Bern, Switzerland to prepare for university. She returned to Belgium in 1873 and attempted to register with the Medical Faculty of the Catholic University of Louvain, but was hampered by the refusal of the Roman Catholic religious hierarchy, who suggested to her that she instead become a midwife. She refused this proposal and returned to Bern, since the Swiss universities were the first of Europe to open up to women and she could pursue medical studies there. She graduated in 1879, and practised her profession for two years in England, where women doctors were free to practise since 1866. She was attached to the New Hospital for Women, and during the time she met many British feminists. She once again returned to Belgium, however, to be able to have her medical qualifications recognized, she was forced to complete additional courses at the Free University of Brussels, open to women since 1880. It then took a Royal Decree in 1884, in order to be allowed to open her own medical practice in Brussels. Link to Wikipedia biography