Women Rising - TRAIL BLAZING DR. ISMA CLAIMS DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

Interviewed by Adil Ahmad, and published in TCS CONNECT Corporate News Magazine, 

January 2014 Volume 13 Issue 1

Much before the advent of Malala Yusufzai, the Land of the Indus and the Karakorum had been blessed with its share of warrior princesses soldiering on in a hostile, male dominated landscape, and through their sheer dint of hard work and perseverance creating much coveted space for themselves in a conservative society, and in some cases being recognized and celebrated at international forums. 

Isma Gheewala, born Isma Aitzazuddin, is in the forefront of women’s emancipation in Pakistan, and has been so for the last three decades and more. She’s a veterinary doctor, a surgeon. In 2011 the USA based Association for Women Veterinarians Foundation (AWVF) picked Isma from a star studded international field of candidates for the Distinguished Service Award. The Awards Committee included the leading lights of the profession Dr. Judy Spurling of Parker, Colorado; Dr. Debra Nickelson of Phoenix, Arizona; Dr. Kathy Eanest-Koons of Ithaca, New York; and Dr. Chris Stone Payne (Awards Chair) of Union City, California. 

DEFYING PREJUDICE

Hailing from an old established family of Lahore, Isma has bucked the system and defied tradition to make her mark in a male dominated field, supported in her endeavor by enlightened parents and husband, a rarity in Pakistani society. The daughter of accomplished polo player, teacher and great lover of animals the late Fakir Syed Aitzazuddin (Jaja Mian), Isma turned her back on many a lucrative education option, choosing instead a field which 20 years ago was looked down upon as producing ‘cattle doctors’.

In 1987 Isma was awarded ‘Doctor of Veterinary Medicine’ from the College of Veterinary Sciences in Lahore, affiliated with the Agricultural University Faisalabad. In 1991 she did her Masters in Veterinary Medicine & Surgery. Her decision to make her mark operating and running her own clinic as opposed to working for pharmaceutical companies or the government was in sharp contrast with the norm.

In her choice of career Isma faced opposition from family members and friends who thought that being a Vet was a degrading profession, especially for a lady, especially when the lady in question could get into any medical college of the country. To appease her family Isma went to visit a government hospital to see doctors at work. The conditions she witnessed there, coupled with the attitude of the doctors, shocked her into thinking that the doctors had lost their humanity. That made up her mind and Isma decided to become a Vet, to do something useful for the animals the love for whom she had inherited from her father, and at the same time retain her humanity.

While studying for her degree any free time that she had was spent working in the dog ward of the college, and the surgery department, gaining experience. The rest of the girls in Isma’s class, 2 foreign students and 3 Pakistanis, wondered why she could not settle for a laboratory job.

COPING WITH MAIDS, DRIVERS, COOKS & FRISKY YOUTH!

Eventually, after completing her studies Isma started her practice in a small one room clinic in her father’s house, seeing a few patients each day. Then she got the break she was looking for when in 1999 her mother agreed to bankroll her ambitions to invest in a place of her own and start a proper clinic. The Small Animals Hospital came into being on 26^th Street in Karachi’s Defence Housing Authority. It was the first clinic to be owned and run by a woman Vet in Pakistan. Initially it was difficult, she says, as people here tend to send their animals to the clinic with their maids, drivers, or cooks. These people seeing a woman, would sometimes tend to misbehave, but soon got the message that either they behave or take their animals elsewhere. Young boys seeing a girl tending to their animals would try to take liberties, and make jokes, but Isma was very strict, and thought to herself that if she respected her profession the people would eventually respect her too. She never gave up and always tried her best with all her clients.

It has taken Isma 15 years to finally achieve what she intended to, and in so doing she has paved the way for a younger generation of lady Vets to stand on their own. Isma’s practice has now become a referral clinic for the entire country. Most of the animal owners across the country know and respect her name. She is consultant for the Karachi Zoo, the Police Canine Unit, the Police Mounted Unit, the Rangers Dog Unit, and scores of private owners of dogs and horses. Isma is also a member of WASAVA and has for the last few years started attending conferences abroad to better improve her knowledge base.

RIDING OFF THE BEATEN PATH

I have had the privilege and pleasure of knowing Isma since the early 1980s when I attended the Shahsawar Riding School of which her father was the owner and principal instructor. Her passion, courage, and tactical ability as a teenager on the polo field were impressive indeed and early pointers to her riding off the beaten track in later life. Isma has done just that. Even as she has blazed a path finding trail for many generations of women to follow, Isma has sought a balance in her life by embracing and fulfilling the demands of a caring wife and loving mother. 

Very recently Isma has shifted her clinic’s coordinates, and moved from 26^th Street to the corner of Khayaban-e-Nishat and Khayaban-e-Bukhari. It’s a much bigger place featuring two operation theatres for minor and major surgeries, and examination room, grooming facility, and boarding and lodging for 35 cats and dogs in the Basement serviced by a life. Ali Habib (Indus Motors) and his family have contributed to the new setup with a lot of equipment that includes an anesthesia machine. “So far I have been performing soft tissue surgeries involving skin and muscle, as well as setting broken bones,” says Isma. “Now with anesthesia machine chest surgeries will also be possible.”

Surprisingly Isma dreads treating reptiles, and says that Vet school never taught reptile disorders. Though she once did take an ultrasound of an albino python to detect the presence of eggs. She is, however, able to treat turtles and tortoises, though the bulk of her clientele comprise dog and cat owners. She says skin disorders are the most common, followed by fever in both canines and felines, as well as stomach ailments, chest infections, and hear and liver problems.   

I am sure there are many women veterinarians around the world with volumes to their credit and entirely deserving of the Distinguished Service Award. What made Isma stand out and claim the Award was the fact that she has persevered with skill and determination in a hostile and male chauvinistic environment, demonstrating high levels of competence and professional integrity, and coping with resource scarcity, the bane of developing countries. Not withstanding, the fact that 15 years later her clinic today is a flourishing concern, and she a greatly respected and admired member of society, is enough testimony to her success.

Bravo Isma!

Dr. Isma Gheewala can be reached at ismagheewala@gmail.com