Be Google Doodle Doctor Marie Thomas Also Known Up To Sweden

JAKARTA - Today's Google search page shows an illustration of a doctor holding a baby. This figure is Marie Thomas, the first female doctor in Indonesia.

Interestingly, Marie Thomas's Google Doodle illustration can not only be seen by users in Indonesia but also in Sweden. As the first female doctor, she was also awarded as a national hero from Minahasa, North Sulawesi.

Marie Thomas was born in Likupang village, Minahasa, North Sulawesi on February 17, 1896. Thus, today, February 17, 2021, is her 125th birthday.

Marie received education at the School tot Opleiding van Indische Artsen (STOVIA) aka Hindia Doctor School or better known as the Javanese Medical School in Batavia. In 1851 STOVIA accepted only male students.

However, this changed, when Aletta Jacob, a Dutch female doctor, visited Batavia on April 18, 1912. She urged the Governor-General of AWF Idenburg to allow native women to register and obtain medical education at STOVIA.

This pressure paid off and Marie Thomas was able to attend STOVIA after receiving scholarship support from Studiefonds Voor Opleiding van Vrouwelijke Inlandsche Artsen (STOVIA). An association that raises education funds for female Indies doctors.

Graduated from STOVIA in 1922, Marie Thomas worked at the Centraal Burger Ziekenhuis in Batavia, or what is now better known as Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM), Jakarta.

During that assignment, Marie Thomas was engaged in gynecology and midwifery. He also initiated contraceptive methods, such as the Intrauterine device (UID), for all women in the archipelago.

Marie Thomas married a doctor named Mohammad Joesoef on March 16, 1929, and settled in West Sumatra. At that time Doctor Marie was also known as Dienst der Volsgezondheid or generous health care provider because he often provided free services for the poor.

Doctor Marie Thomas died in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, on October 10, 1966, at the age of 70. She left so many great services that are still remembered today.

Google also wishes doctor Marie Thomas a happy birthday for her selfless dedication to the lives of others that have paved the way for women in Indonesia to pursue medicine and higher education.