In need of female gynecologists

My attention has been drawn to an ante-natal examination which is conducted by male gynecologists on Muslim women in northern hospital of Nigeria in particular. I was told by my friend who is so jealous that he accompanied his wife one day to visit a male gynecologist for pregnancy check-up. My friend was a bit […]

My attention has been drawn to an ante-natal examination which is conducted by male gynecologists on Muslim women in northern hospital of Nigeria in particular. I was told by my friend who is so jealous that he accompanied his wife one day to visit a male gynecologist for pregnancy check-up. My friend was a bit taken aback when he realized that his wife would be examined by a male gynecologist. He asked himself: How was he going to allow a male gynecologist examine his wife? He promptly asked for a female gynecologist and none was available. These are just some of the situations women go through when they visit hospitals across the country. Indeed, today, we are in need of female gynecologists, obstetricians and midwives in our northern hospitals especially maternities. I always ask myself why young females are just interested in teaching, dentistry, Food & Nutrition and other medical fields not midwifery, gynecology and obstetrics? Where are our female gynecologists who graduated from Schools of Nursing? Could their non-visibility be as a result of a combination of socio-economic and religious factors? It’s obvious that lack of interest in gynecology by our young females could be included in this matter. Besides, Muslim women and their spouses feel uncomfortable and jealous when consulting a male gynecologist. To make matters more complicated, unscrupulous male practitioners have been convicted of inappropriate behaviors with parents. However, the non-Muslims may find nothing objectionable in a male doctor treating women with gynecological, obstetric or fertility problems, we Muslims have a different attitude. It is a collective meet. This means that the Muslims community should ensure that there are a sufficient number of female specialists, particularly in gynecology and obstetrics. That would require the community to offer certain incentives so that a sufficient number of women come forward to specialize in those areas.
Fortunately, dear brothers & sisters, if we could remember in 2013, the 300 medical students were sent to India, Egypt, Uganda, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia by for their medical training. 100 male and female were studying medicine while 100 female were also studying gynecology and remaining 100 were studying pharmaceutical science. This effort made by the former governor of Kano state Dr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso is an example which should be imitated by the current northern governors.
Mustapha Baba Azare, Bauchi State.