Nursing the empire, building the state: female health professionals and politics in 1950s Ethiopia and Sudan

This paper offers a comparative analysis of the social and political
status of female health professionals–particularly nurses and
midwives–in Ethiopia and Sudan during the 1950s. It explores
how these women came to occupy markedly different statuses
within their respective nation-building processes, despite sharing
a common regional history of imperial and colonial medical
initiatives.
From the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century, Ottoman-
Egyptian, French, British, Italian, and Ethiopian imperial projects
were all deeply intertwined with the medicalisation of childbirth
and the establishment of nursing and midwifery schools and
hospitals across Northeast Africa. These institutions later became
sites of political investment for actors involved in the 1950s
nation-building projects.
The study outlines the emergence of professional training for
nurses and midwives in Northeast Africa, then examines the
training policies and political roles of female healthcare personnel
in Ethiopia and Sudan during the 1950s. Primary sources include
British and Italian official reports as well as Sudanese and
Ethiopian journals from the period.
By employing a broad regional and historical perspective, the
paper argues that the differing social statuses and political roles
of nurses and midwives in Sudan and Ethiopia are best
understood within the transition from imperial to national
political orders.