My dream is to live in a world where education and healthcare are available to all.
From a young age, my parents instilled in me the importance of education. My mother was an English teacher, and my father was a doctor. When I was 5 years old, we moved to the UK so they could both get their master’s and doctoral degrees. Their studies were challenging, and I witnessed their hard work and perseverance firsthand.
I grew up watching my parents work on themselves to improve their students’ education and patients’ health, thus improving the world around them. It’s no surprise that this inspired a deep-rooted belief in me that education and healthcare are absolutely vital, and access to them is truly a human right. It was a combination of these beliefs that pushed me to go to medical school.
I faced many challenges during my time at medical school, but luckily I was not discriminated against because of my gender. I did not feel that, as a female, I was inferior to my male colleagues. I was assessed on my academic competence, and I truly believe this is how it should be across all fields. No one should be judged on their gender, but rather on the talent and skills that they bring to the table.
Sadly, the rate of females entering advanced fields such as Medicine is low; there are therefore much fewer female doctors than male doctors. Not only that, but our male counterparts are sometimes seen as more competent. COVID-19 has shown us the importance of healthcare being provided by all healthcare workers to all the patients who need it. This includes females on both sides of the equation. We were—and still are—fighting on the frontlines together, shoulder to shoulder, side by side. How many more people would we have lost if females had not been part of this fight? If this past year has proven anything, it is that we are all equal, and must all work together to help each other.
Like my parents, I want to be an advocate of education and healthcare. I want to eradicate the idea that gender can dictate the level of education or healthcare that people can access. I hope to inspire and set an example for the next generation of changemakers.
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