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access to books. Inspired by the development of various women's organisations on a visit to Canada in 1907â8, back in
Colombo Rutnam encouraged the establishment of the Tamil Women's Union. This non-denominational organisation centred on cultural and educational work, including the promotion of traditional Tamil culture and the provision of schooling.
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From 1932, Rutnam began to advocate greater promotion of family planning, worried by the undernourished babies she saw at the Ceylon Social
Service League. Ceylon's Medical Council rejected her suggestion to include principles of family planning in Ceylon Medical School's curriculum, and five years
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In 1944, Rutnam was a co-founder of the All-Ceylon Women's
Conference, which had taken over the work of the Ceylon Women's Society. Her social work and concerns widened further still, including the rights of female factory workers, women prisoners, adult education, the dowry system, and childcare
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From 1904, Rutnam collaborated with a fellow
Canadian doctor in establishing the Girls' Friendly Society and the Ceylon Women's Union, both intended to improve the health and social provisions for local women and girls. They dispensed advice, facilitated discussion on women's rights, and provided
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which, when women gained the vote in 1931, became the Women's
Political Union, with Rutnam as its inaugural president. The group continued to work for widespread democratic rights for women. From 1931, she also began to a network of women's institutes (the Ceylon Women's Society, or Lanka Mahila
251:(1933). This latter included a call for young women to carry out social work, as well as decrying issues like the use and treatment of children as servants. She championed sex education, women's suffrage, and improved nutrition, spearheading a campaign to tackle the prevalence of
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labored particularly to enhance the self-respect of the less fortunate by showing them practical ways to improve their lot. At the same time, she has helped the more fortunate to recognize that it is their social responsibility and, indeed, their privilege to help their
207:, the Lady Havelock Hospital for Women, before opening her own gynaecological practice there. This was particularly popular with Muslim women, and others, who would have avoided seeing a male doctor.
231:, the first woman to do so, and oversaw 'sanitation projects, urban renewal, and local poor relief'. However, critics of her birth control advocacy saw her removed from the role just a year later.
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Dr. Mary Rutnam died in 1962. Following her death, a memorial was created for her in the form of a women and children's waiting room at the Lady
Ridgeway Hospital for Children in Colombo.
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Among the major contributions noted was the introduction of women's institutes (the Lanka Mahila Samiti) to Ceylon, which had 'done much to alter the status of village women'. Rutnam:
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Rutnam wrote, lectured, and published extensively on the social and medical issues she cared about. As well as articles in newspapers, Rutnam published two textbooks:
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for 62 years applied her heart, her mind and her medical knowledge with insight and understanding to the problems of the
Ceylonese people, whom she has made her own.
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later - in 1937 - Rutnam opened her own family planning clinic in
Colombo, the country's first. The same year, she won a seat on the municipal council of
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movement to Ceylon, and during the 1920s she took an ever-greater role in the suffrage campaign. To this end, she was primarily involved with the
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Samiti), which focused on working with the rural poor, including offering instruction in health care, handicrafts, literacy, and cookery.
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135:; 2 June 1873 â 1962) was a Canadian doctor, gynaecologist, suffragist, and pioneer of women's rights in
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In 1949, on her 76th birthday, Rutnam was celebrated widely for her tireless work in social welfare.
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The global family planning revolution : three decades of population policies and programs
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Having completed her preparatory training, Rutnam arrived in Sri Lanka (the
British colony of
533:. Robinson, Warren C., 1928-2015., Ross, John A., 1934-. Washington, D.C.: World Bank. 2007.
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for Public
Service for her humanitarian and social work. Rutnam was praised for having
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Women and children's waiting room at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children in
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349:"Dr Mary Rutnam : a Canadian pioneer for women's rights in Sri Lanka"
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in 1896. While there, she met and married Samuel Christmas Kanaga Rutnam.
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324:"My Days With Dr. Mary Rutnam and Robin Rutnam: by Chandra Arulpragasam"
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In 1922, Rutnam was responsible for the introduction of the
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American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
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A Canadian Pioneer for Women's Rights in Sri Lanka.
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91:Doctor, gynaecologist, suffragist, social worker
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500:canadiansrilankanpartnerships (2012-08-15).
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111:Samuel Christmas Kanaga Rutnam
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638:Ramon Magsaysay Award winners
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347:Jayawardena, Kumari (1993).
51:1962 (aged 88–89)
245:A Health Manual for Schools
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598:Canadian women physicians
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80:Women's Medical College,
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593:Canadian women activists
476:"Awardees: Rutnam, Mary"
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259:Recognition
101:Girl Guides
67:Nationality
36:2 June 1873
23:Mary Rutnam
577:Categories
511:2020-12-22
358:2020-12-22
333:2020-12-22
306:References
283:fellowmen.
216:Girl Guide
165:Kincardine
143:movement.
141:temperance
557:cite book
549:169933106
137:Sri Lanka
77:Education
56:Monuments
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181:New York
71:Canadian
42:, Canada
253:rickets
205:Colombo
173:Toronto
61:Colombo
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197:Inuvil
193:Ceylon
157:Canada
122:, 1958
116:Awards
108:Spouse
201:Tamil
133:Irwin
131:(nÊe
563:link
545:OCLC
535:ISBN
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187:Work
48:Died
29:Born
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