The University of Edinburgh has finally awarded the first ever female medical students their much-deserved degrees. This happens more than one hundred and fifty years after the group of seven revolutionaries attended the institution.
The group of seven women, also known as the “Edinburgh Seven”, first started attending the university back in 1869.
The posthumous graduation ceremony for these pioneer women comes at a time when equality is a touchy subject for British education. Despite that, modern-day Britain has gone a long way since the nineteenth century. Societal progress and development over the years have allowed the group to be awarded their deserved diplomas, a century and a half later.
A doctors degree in 1869
The struggle of these women was great, as, during the nineteenth century, women were not a common sight in the field of medicine. Even if they completed their courses with excellence, no worse than any of their male colleagues, the seven did not receive their diplomas or their doctoral degrees when they had to.
The course of their education was not natural either. One time during their university education, when they had to attend an exam in human anatomy, a riot broke out in front of Surgeon’s Hall at the University of Edinburgh, as other students and teachers did not want the seven to be allowed to sit the exam.
To commemorate this struggle, and to honor the efforts of these seven outstanding revolutionaries, the University of Edinburgh will not only award them their medical degrees but organize a series of events highlighting the women’s achievements.
