To the woman, wife, mother, doctor, guide and example: Thank you for giving me life.
Graciela Hurtado de Mazariegos 1921-2020
Born in Palmira, Valle, on November 13, 1921, to the home formed by "Don" Ricardo Hurtado and "Doña" Eva Bedoya. Graciela, the oldest of seven siblings, had a great sense of responsibility to help her family since childhood.
After finishing primary school, she wanted to continue with her secondary studies but, in her native Palmira, there were no girls' high schools. My grandparents decided to enroll her in the Cárdenas School where only boys studied, so the Bishop of Popayán at the time threatened to excommunicate her. My mother had to complete her high school degree in Bogotá beyond the considerations and stereotypes about the role that men and women had to play that marked those years.
She studied medicine at the National University with 140 men as fellow students and, just like in high school, she had to fight against the establishment that did not welcome a woman studying a profession that only men had performed until that time. As an anecdote, she had to learn to perform surgeries with her right hand, since she was not allowed to use her left hand, which was her natural hand from birth.
National University School of Medicine Class of 1949
She graduated first in her class, but it was not easy for her to make her way into the practice of her profession. She began practicing medicine and gynecology at a time when society was not yet prepared to put the health of patients in the hands of a woman, and she managed to demonstrate with courage and character that a woman had the same capacity as her masculine colleagues. My mother therefore has the honor of being the first female doctor that "Valle del Cauca" had and one of the most recognized gynecologists in the country; not only because of her knowledge and dedication, but because she practiced her profession until the age of 92.
Celebrating 50 years of professional service with classmates in November 1999.
In 1964, she was the only woman among the group of 27 founding doctors of the Coomeva Cooperative. Additionally, she is a pioneer and promoter of women's participation in cooperativism and a champion of women's rights in the country. In 1997, the Colombian Medical Society awarded her the “César Uribe Piedrahita” Merit, the highest distinction awarded by this entity. Her life is a worthy example of what can be achieved with perseverance, effort and character, and marked a milestone in his time.
To honor her life and work, we named this new species for science: The epiphet gracielae is in honor of the groundbreaking contributions and resilience of Dr. Graciela Hurtado de Mazariegos (1921-2020), OB/GYN and the second female doctor in Colombia’s history. She practiced her profession for six decades until the age of 92, and by challenging preconceived notions, she paved the way for other women to enter the medical field. In a distinctive and well-deserved homage to her enduring legacy, we name this Aulacus species after her, highlighting the interconnectedness of various disciplines and honors the multifaceted impact of women in science. Extracted from Zootaxa 5497 (2): 285–291
Aulacus gracielae sp. nov.
Comments