Got around the ‘breast feeding problem’ and more...
She has the unique distinction of being the first woman in the
country to earn the Doctorate in Medicine (MD) of the University of
Ceylon. At the relatively young age of 40, she was appointed to the
Chair of Paediatrics at the Faculty of Medicine, thus becoming the first
woman to be appointed to a professorial chair. This week’s Reminiscences
of Gold features this remarkable lady, Dr. Priyani Soysa, Emeritus
Professor of Paediatrics of the University of Colombo.
Dr. Priyani Soysa |
“I was born and bred in Moratuwa and I attended the school by the
Lunawa lagoon, Princes of Wales College, from the Kindergarten up to the
London Matriculation. I had no idea that I would end up doing medicine,
but I won a prize in every class, except one year when I had whooping
cough. I was also sports captain. We played Tennis against Colombo
schools like Visakha, Ladies College, and Bishop’s College, winning some
and losing some. We played netball, a rough game with another college in
Moratuwa. There I dislocated my right shoulder, which troubled me for
some time. So I learnt to manipulate my dislocated shoulder back into
its socket. I also did extremely well in the Senior Cambridge with
distinctions in every subject except Sinhalese where I got a credit. My
father who had a foresight that a knowledge of Sinhala language would be
important in the future coaxed me to do both Sinhalese and Latin,” said
Dr. Priyani.
“I met my husband (Dr. Ananda Soysa) while I was in the Medical
College. We were body partners because at that time we had to dissect
the body: the arms, the legs, the chest and brain. And it was a tough
time. And when we were juniors the seniors used to throw body parts at
us when the demonstrators were not around. On such days our clothes were
smelling. We couldn’t even go in the bus but had to walk back to the
YWCA hostel. We didn’t have a women’s hostel at that time. There were
quite a few of us, five or six medical students, in the YWCA hostel
which was a hostel for working women and not for students. There was a
lot of noise with music, violins and guitars. We had to study in that
environment. The Tennis in the evening was quite a welcome feature.”
Social activities
“I was at the top of the list coming first among the women and
getting a first class with distinctions in Medicine, Obstetrics,
Gynecology, Pharmacology, and my teachers were wondering what I was
going to do. But I selected paediatrics and was awarded a scholarship by
the government to proceed to England in 1953 which happened to be the
Coronation Year. My husband resigned from the government service and
accompanied me. His specialization was ENT Surgery. We thoroughly
enjoyed our stay in England.”
Upon her return from England, Dr. Priyani was posted to the Jaffna
Hospital as Consultant Paediatrician. That was in 1956 when Prime
Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike’s 'Sinhala Only' policy created a stir in
Jaffna. “I had to face many black flag demonstrations. Nevertheless I
was popular among the patients and people of Jaffna. I participated in
many social activities, even singing solos at Christmas time in the
church, and made many friends. The women used to shout: “the big lady
from the children’s ward.”
“In the market I was charged less for vegetables. I did all sorts of
things in Jaffna which didn’t cause any trouble. For instance the so
called low caste women were not allowed to wear a jacket and they wore a
cloth like our Diyaredda which used to embarrass me inside the ward. I
made them wear hospital jackets and there was no protest. That way it
was a lot easier for them when nursing their babies.”
Lady Ridgeway Hospital
Ayurvedic practice was really popular in Jaffna at that time and I
dispelled their fears of Western medicine. They accepted Western
treatment and accepted me and I got on famously till the 1958 riots. I
was the only Sinhala doctor North of Anuradhapura and I had to seek
refuge. Dr. Valloopillai came to my house and invited me to stay with
him and his wife. His father- in-law was the MP for Kytes. Nobody knew
that I was there; only the hospital telephone operator knew but didn’t
divulge information to anyone. I was pregnant at that time; my husband
was returning from the high seas. Finally, we came in the last plane
that left Jaffna because the Palali airport was bombed after our plane
left. It was a frightening experience.”
Dr. Priyani was next posted to the new hospital in Ratnapura. “I went
there with my new born baby. By that time my husband had arrived. He was
sent as ENT surgeon and I, as paediatrician. Other doctors were surgeon
Navaratna and obstetrician Goonetilleke. We polished the floors and we
installed ourselves and inaugurated the new hospital in Ratnapura. That
was quite an experience. People adored us. In fact there was a road that
was named as “Priyani Soysa Mawatha.” That was the extent to which the
people in that area had accepted us. I would say that had I come for
politics I would have won the Ratnapura seat. We were there for five
years. We had a lovely bungalow. Two of my children were born in that
house. I had home deliveries. My husband acted as doctor in the house.
One child was born on my husband’s birthday with Kiribath on the table.”
After Ratnapura, her next station was the Kurunegala Hospital where
she made an important discovery – a few cases of dengue. “I collected
data and presented them at a meeting in Colombo in February 1966, but
people did not believe me at that time. We did not have facilities to
isolate the virus at the time. A few months later, a daughter of two
medical consultants died of Dengue. It was only after that incident that
people realized Dengue had come to Sri Lanka.”
She was appointed to the Chair of Paediatrics at the Faculty of
Medicine in 1966 and she held this post till her retirement in 1991.
While teaching at the Faculty of Medicine, she also continued to work at
the Lady Ridgeway Hospital. “I served there for 25 years which was at
that time the longest time anyone had been at the Lady Ridgeway
Hospital, the largest children’s hospital in the country.”
Dr. Priyani devoted her entire working life for the welfare of
mothers and children. She had first hand experience of seeing
malnourished children and mothers. She did not confine her work merely
to treating patients but tried to eliminate the root causes of many
problems such as malnutrition and infectious diseases. She worked with
the WHO in imposing restrictions on the advertising of infant formula
milk.
In order to promote breast-feeding, she campaigned with others to
increase the period of maternity leave for working mothers. She also
helped formulate a national policy on breast feeding. “I am also happy
to say that my special interest in nutrition took me up to the UN
highest committee on nutrition. I was an advisor to the UN Subcommittee
on nutrition, and chairperson of maternal and child nutrition.” As
Professor of Paediatrics, she was responsible for training a large
number of paediatricians in the country.
Looking back on her life, there is no doubt that she was able to make
a difference in the lives of others. It was with a sense of fulfillment
that she said: “My husband is the longest living surgeon today in Sri
Lanka, and he is 91 years old. We have been married for 61 years. We
have four girls. We never pressed them to be doctors. They chose their
own disciplines and they also chose their partners in life. And today we
have a home where the eldest married a Buddhist, the second married a
Hindu, and the youngest married a Muslim. My husband a Buddhist and
myself a Christian and the children of mixed faiths. We live peacefully
in this home. We have four grandchildren. The way forward for this
country has been demonstrated by the two of us who have served this
country faithfully. That is our happiness.” |