Stella Abidh
Stella Piari Abidh was a Trinidad and Tobago public health physician. She served as the Medical Officer of Health for San Fernando and as medical supervisor of schools in south Trinidad. She is believed to be the first Indo-Trinidadian woman to become a doctor.
Early life and education
Stella Piari Abidh was born in Charlieville Chaguanas. She was the daughter of Clarence Carmichael Abidh, headmaster of the Canadian Mission Indian school in Charlieville, and member of the Legislative Council. Her mother died when she was young. She was educated at Naparima Girls' High School in San Fernando; a school established following changing attitude of Christians towards girls' early marriages. There, she was the first student to complete the Junior Cambridge Certificate, and later at Saint Joseph's Convent in Port of Spain. After rejecting the marriage arranged for her by her grandmother, Abidh became a schoolteacher.Inspired by the story of Rosalie Sanowar, the first Indo-Trinidadian woman to become a nurse, Abidh applied to study nursing. In response to this, her father suggested she become a doctor. When he approached the head of the Presbyterian Church in Trinidad for help to send her to Canada to study medicine, he was told: "I would not send a daughter to do medicine. Indian girls are morally weak and would not be able to stand those pressures". After making her promise not to be "one of those Indian people", her father sent her to Canada to study medicine. She received a medical degree from the University of Toronto and the Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada in 1930.