Countess of Dufferin's Fund

In 1883, the Countess of Dufferin arrived in India with her husband, who had been created Viceroy. She had been asked to take an interest in the medical relief of Indian women by Queen Victoria, who had been upset by the accounts of Mary Scharlieb and Elizabeth Bielby (both graduates of the London School of Medicine for Women), regarding their experience of this matter. Strict purdah was kept at this time by Muslim, but also some Hindu women, with the result that many suffered and died unnecessarily through lack of medical care. The Countess of Dufferin's Fund was established in 1885, to provide financial support for a "National Association for the Supplying of Female Medical Aid to the Women of India". This Association, which was formally registered in 1888, aimed to train women as doctors, nurses and midwives, to provide female wards in existing hospitals, and to endow hospitals for women and children. The Association consisted of a Central Committee which acted as a link between a number of local branches based in India. These branches were expected to contribute financially to the central fund, and to adhere to the objects of the National Association, but were otherwise independent. The Association celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 1935.