Ruth Pfau FCM | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Ruth Katherina Martha Pfau (1929-09-09)9 September 1929 Leipzig, Weimar Republic |
| Died | 10 August 2017(2017-08-10) (aged 87) |
| Resting place | Gora Qabaristan, Karachi |
| Monuments | Dr. Ruth Pfau Hospital |
| Alma mater | University of Mainz |
| Occupation(s) | Nun, physician, writer |
| Organization | Marie Adelaide Leprosy Centre |
| Notable work | National Leprosy Control |
| Awards | Full list |
Ruth Katherina Martha Pfau, FCM (Urdu:رتھ فاؤ; 9 September 1929 – 10 August 2017) was a German–PakistaniCatholic Christian religious sister and physician who was a member of the "Society of the Daughters of the Heart of Mary". She emigrated from Germany in 1961 and devoted more than 55 years of her life to fightingleprosy in Pakistan. Pfau was honoured withHilal-e-Pakistan,Hilal-i-Imtiaz,Nishan-i-Quaid-i-Azam, and theSitara-i-Quaid-i-Azam awards.
Pfau contributed to the establishment of 157 leprosy clinics across Pakistan that treated over 56,780 people.Fazaia Ruth Pfau Medical College andDr. Ruth Pfau Hospital are named after her death inKarachi. She died in August 2017 and was buried with fullstate honours.
Pfau was born on 9 September 1929 inLeipzig,Germany, toLutheranChristian parents.[1][2] She had four sisters and one brother. Her home was destroyed bybombing duringWorld War II.[3] Following the post-warSoviet occupation ofEast Germany she moved toWest Germany along with her family, and chose medicine as her future career.[4] During the 1950s, she studied medicine at theUniversity of Mainz.[5] During this period Pfau frequently met a Dutch Christian woman who was aconcentration camp survivor and was dedicating her life to "preaching love and forgiveness". After "her life-changing experience", Pfau left "a romantic association" with a fellow student and became involved in discussions in Mainz's philosophy and classical literature department.[2] After completing her clinical examination, Pfau moved toMarburg to carry on her clinical studies. She was baptised as anEvangelical Protestant in 1951, before her conversion toRoman Catholicism in 1953.[6][7] Pfau stated that she learned the "courage of being human" from SaintThomas Aquinas throughJosef Pieper's writing.[8] She joined a Catholic parish, and she was greatly influenced byRomano Guardini'sThe Lord in this period.[2]
In 1957,[7] Pfau travelled toParis and joined the Daughters of the Heart of Mary, aCatholic order.[2] She said, "When you receive such a calling, you cannot turn it down, for it is not you who has made the choice. ... God has chosen you for himself."[7] The order later sent her to southernIndia; however, in 1960,[7] a visa issue meant she had to stay inKarachi.[9] She travelled to various parts of Pakistan[10] and across the border to Afghanistan[11] to rescue patients who were abandoned by their families or locked in small rooms for a lifetime.
Not all of us can prevent a war; but most of us can help ease sufferings—of the body and the soul.
— Ruth Pfau[4]
In 1960, aged 31, Pfau decided to dedicate the rest of her life to the people ofPakistan and their battle againstleprosy outbreaks. While in Karachi, by chance she visited the Lepers' Colony behind McLeod Road (nowI. I. Chundrigar Road) near theCity Railway Station.[12] Here she decided that the care of patients would be her life's calling. She started medical treatment for the leprosy patients in a hut in this area. TheMarie Adelaide Leprosy Centre[13] was founded (which later branched out into tuberculosis and blindness prevention programmes)[12] and social work for the leprosy patients and their family members was started by Dr I K Gill. A leprosy clinic was bought in April 1963 and patients from all over Karachi, from elsewhere in Pakistan, and even from Afghanistan came for treatment.[14]
In 1979, she was appointed as the Federal Advisor on Leprosy to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare ofGovernment of Pakistan.[5] Pfau went to distant areas of Pakistan where there were no medical facilities for leprosy patients. She collected donations in Germany and Pakistan and co-operated with hospitals inRawalpindi and Karachi.In recognition of her service to the country, she was awarded Pakistani citizenship in 1988.[15]
Due to her continued efforts, in 1996 theWorld Health Organization declared Pakistan one of the first countries in Asia to have controlled leprosy.[16] According to theDawn, the number of leprosy cases nationwide dropped significantly from 19,398 in the early 1980s to 531 in 2016.[12]
On 9 September 1999, the Archbishop of Karachi,Simeon Anthony Pereira, celebrated aMass atSt. Patrick's Cathedral to celebrate Pfau's 70th birthday, which was attended by both Christians and Muslims.[15]
In the early morning on 10 August 2017, around 4:00 a.m.PST, Pfau died at theAga Khan University Hospital in Karachi after being admitted there due to respiratory problems on 4 August 2017. She was put on a ventilator after her condition worsened on 6 August.[17][18][19] She refused life support, which her doctors removed the next day,[19] according to her wish for "living a natural life".[20] Pfau had been dealing with several health problems due to her advanced age, including kidney andheart disease,[7] for which she had been undergoing treatment for several years.[19]
PresidentMamnoon Hussain issued the statement: "Dr Pfau’s services to end leprosy in Pakistan cannot be forgotten. She left her homeland and made Pakistan her home to serve humanity. The Pakistani nation salutes Dr Pfau and her great tradition to serve humanity will be continued."[21]
Prime MinisterShahid Khaqan Abbasi said: "Dr Ruth Pfau may have been born in Germany, [but] her heart was always in Pakistan." He further added that, "she came here at the dawn of a young nation looking to make lives better for those afflicted by disease and in doing so found herself a home. We will remember her for her courage, her loyalty, her service to the eradication of leprosy and most of all her patriotism."[21] He also announced that astate funeral would be held for her.[22][9]
Chief of Army StaffQamar Bajwa referred to Pfau as an "ambassador of humanity".[19]
Chief of Air Staff Air Chief MarshalSohail Aman named a medical college, being built at an airbase in Karachi, in her name. The college is now named as "Fazaia Ruth Pfau Medical College". Its first classes are expected to commence in December 2019.
On 19 September 2017, Pfau's bodylay in state at theHoly Family Hospital in Karachi ahead of the funeral.[23] The state funeral for Pfau was held atSaint Patrick's Cathedral, in front of which the flags of Pakistan andVatican City were flown at half mast,[24] with ArchbishopJoseph Coutts presiding over theRequiem.[25] ThePakistani flag was draped over her coffin and a19-gun salute was offered by contingents of all three wings of thePakistan Armed Forces. The ceremony was broadcast live onPakistan Television.[26] Pfau was reportedly the first Christian and first non-Muslim to have a state funeral in Pakistan.[27] She was then buried atGora Qabaristan, a Christian cemetery in Karachi.[25]
Pfau is well respected by Muslims in Pakistan who were the majority of patients at theMarie Adelaide Leprosy Centre.[28] Saleem Maseh Amir says that she never talked about religion, yet "her faith, service, and love" were demonstrations of the spirit that inspired inter-religious dialogue.[28]
In 2018, Pfau's private residence in Karachi was converted into a museum to showcase some of her personal possessions.[29]
Pfau is remembered in Pakistan and abroad as a distinguished human being, and had been awarded many awards and medals. On 23 March 1989, Pfau received theHilal-i-Pakistan award presented by the then-President of PakistanGhulam Ishaq Khan at the President House for her work with leprosy patients.[30]
Speaking at a function in Islamabad on 30 January 2000 to mark the 47th World Leprosy Day, the then-PresidentRafiq Tarar praised Pfau, who built up the National Leprosy Control Program in Pakistan, for working not only for those afflicted with leprosy but also for those withtuberculosis.[31] In 2006, Pfau was honoured as the 'Woman of the Year 2006' byCity FM89.[32]
On 14 August 2010, on the occasion of Pakistan's Independence Day, the then-President of PakistanAsif Ali Zardari awarded Pfau theNishan-i-Quaid-i-Azam for public service.[33] She was hailed as Pakistan's "Mother Teresa" after her work towards helping people displaced by the2010 Pakistan floods.[3] In 2015, Pfau was awarded the Staufer Medal, the highest award of the German state ofBaden-Württemberg.[34]
On 19 August 2017,Sindh Chief MinisterSyed Murad Ali Shah announced renaming of theCivil Hospital Karachi to Dr Ruth Pfau Hospital as an acknowledgment of "selfless services of the late social servant".[35]
On 9 September 2019, Google honoured her with aGoogle Doodle of her treating a patient.[36][37]
In February 2020, the President of Pakistan Dr.Arif Alvi inaugurated theFazaia Ruth Pfau Medical College in Karachi. The college was established by thePakistan Air Force.[38]
