Women medical missionaries in Kashmir from the late 1800s to the early 1900s

Female medical missionaries significantly contributed to the advancement of healthcare practices in colonial Kashmir, especially in women’s healthcare, nursing, midwifery, and medical outreach. This article analyzes the role of female medical missionaries in the development of institutional healthcare in Kashmir from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries. It inquires how missionary women navigated local social and cultural obstacles, including gender norms and purdah regulations, to enhance access to medical care for Kashmiri women. The study examines the convergence of medicine, gender, and colonial action in the region by utilizing missionary records, official reports, travelers’ accounts, and secondary historical sources. The research contends that female medical missionaries not only introduced Western medical methods but also influenced new modalities of public health involvement through dispensaries, prenatal care, nursing services, and medical education. The study contextualizes its findings within the extensive history of medicine in Kashmir, emphasizing the gendered aspects of healthcare evolution and the frequently neglected role of women in the region’s medical narrative.