International Women's Day: Message from Dr. Tanzeem Fatima Former Clinical Pharmacist, Hussain Lakhani Hospital, Iqra University

TEXT: This year, as we celebrate International Women’s Day, I wanted to put a focus on women throughout history who have made waves in the field of Pharmacy. Going way back to the 17th century, many women were skilled in making medicinal home remedies but very few ran their own apothecaries and were in constant competition with male physicians for the right to make and prescribe medicines. For many years, pharmacy has been touted as a female-friendly profession. Two feminized niches have presented pharmacy opportunities that appealed to women.

The first was a growing hospital sector, where female pharmacist have outnumbered male pharmacist for nearly 50 year. As of 2009, 75.5% of pharmacist working in the hospital setting were females. Hospital pharmacy afforded pharmacist the opportunity to provide patient care, where “feminine” attributes such as communication and empathy were useful skills. The second was the emergence of the staff pharmacist, a position more commonly held by women than by men.

Mentioning the most renowned Pharmacist, Nadia Bukhari, an inspiration to millions has been awarded the status of Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) making her the youngest female fellow. She is the first Muslim female and British Pakistani to be a board member of National Association of Board of Pharmacy for England, UK.

"Women must not accept; she must challenge. She must not be awed by that which has been built up around her; she must reverence that woman in her which struggles for expressions."

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023