Our work at Iron Lady Foundation is inspired and in honor of Dr Leela Mehta, a pioneering Gynecologist, recognized leader and advocate for maternal health, and devoted mother.
Her unwavering dedication in her personal and professional life represents the possibilities of what can be achieved with resolve, integrity and perseverance.
Born as the youngest of five children in a small village with a population of just 5,000 in Rajasthan, India, before the country’s independence, her family, like many others in the community, faced the harsh realities of poverty and maternal loss.
Dr Mehta’s mother sadly passed away due to complications after childbirth, and she grew up under the care of extended family members with no recollections of her mothers presence. Despite the challenges she faced during her childhood years, Dr Mehta was deeply driven by a desire to study and break away from generational traditions such as child-brides, which were common culturally in Rajasthan, India throughout the ‘50’s and ‘60’s.
Despite a lack of early formal education, Dr Mehta’s older brother, a doctor, encouraged her to pursue medical studies. She was also a talented musician and studied Arts for one year, until realizing her vocation lay in helping women.
Through scholarship and her own means she funded her own way through college and medical school to become the first female doctor and gynecologist in one of the largest district areas in Rajasthan, India.
From the 1970’s through to the 2000’s, female patient deaths in India were at their highest due to societal barriers, lack of access to medical facilities and poor standards of hygiene and care.
Despite her Government job, Dr Leela Mehta strived to do more outside of the restrictive system and she worked relentlessly to provide private free prenatal, deliveries and postnatal care to women in villages in her own time.
A tireless advocate for women’s welfare, Dr Leela Mehta was trusted and known throughout communities in India, not just in her own native Rajasthan. She fearlessly and tirelessly faced challenges and threats on behalf of women, such as from local landowners who were known to kill girl children. On one occasion she saved the life of a young baby and then 22 years later went on to deliver that woman’s first child.
Dr Mehta also spent time and gave her resources to a local Orphanage, which is today supported by Iron Lady Foundation, where she freely gave her time and experiences to help children with their studies and provide other practical resources and support.
In 2015, Dr Leela Mehta was diagnosed with cancer which she, of course, fought for eight years. Again, her will and determination were evident as she underwent chemotherapy. Whilst living with the disease she filled her days with her passions of music, uplifting women and encouraging her daughter Rashi to “never give up and do more.”
Dr Leela Mehta practiced her vocation in her home region for over 40 years alongside her husband, a Radiologist, and even took calls from patients as she was going into surgery for her own cancer treatments.
Her legacy of courage, inspiration, perseverance, overcoming obstacles and continuously breaking ceilings made of not just glass, but iron, are the heart that drives our programs in Iron Lady Foundation as she would; with unbreakable strength and unstoppable grace.
