Brussels (The Brussels Morning Newspaper): A new street, Isala Van Dieststraat, is being built at the Tour & Taxis site in Brussels to honor Dr. Isala Van Diest, Belgium’s first female doctor, who advanced women’s rights in medicine.
The Isala Van Dieststraat is a new street being built at the Tour & Taxis site, located between Maritiemdreef and Charles Demeerstraat. This street will be named after Dr. Isala Van Diest, an important figure in Belgian history. Isala Van Diest (1842-1916) was a trailblazer in Belgian medicine and the first woman to become a doctor in Belgium. She was born in Leuven and studied natural sciences and medicine, even though it was tough for women back then. Her important work opened doors for other women in the medical field. The new street is named after her to honor her legacy and the impact she had on healthcare.
What challenges did Isala Van Diest face as Belgium’s first female doctor?
Isala Van Diest was the first female doctor in Belgium, and she faced many challenges on her journey. She completed her medical studies in 1879, but it took until 1884 for her to start her practice because her degree wasn’t recognized immediately. This highlighted how difficult it was for women to enter the medical field at that time. Isala was committed to her work and fought for equal rights in healthcare, taking extra courses at the Université Libre de Bruxelles after they began accepting female students in 1880. Her lifelong dedication to women’s rights in medicine and education has made a lasting impact, and now a street is named after her to honor her contributions.
The second street named after a woman is Jeanne De Schouwer. She was born in 1925 and worked hard to improve the social and cultural life in Haren, which was a suburb of Brussels at that time. De Schouwer focused on making Haren greener and helped build playgrounds for children. She also played a big role in creating the community center called De Linde. The new Jeanne De Schouwerstraat will connect the path along the railway between Rabsonstraat and Verdunstraat, the street where she was born.
Alderman Anaïs Maes said that by naming the Isala Van Dieststraat and Jeanne De Schouwerweg, they’re making progress in having more women recognized in the city. It’s important to remember women who have done great things in history and communities. Brussels has been working for a while to add more street names for women and has already named 12 streets after women in the last few years.
