page_title: Teodora Krajewska
section_title: Medical career
hierarchical_section_title: Teodora Krajewska / Medical career
caption_attribution_description: Bosanski: Administrativna podjela Bosne i Hercegovine 1895. godine
context_page_description: Teodora Krajewska was a Polish-born Austro-Hungarian physician, writer and teacher.
  In her youth, Krajewska worked in schools and wrote novels. She surprised her family by moving to Switzerland to study medicine in 1883. In 1892, she was hired by the authorities of Austria-Hungary to work as a public health official in Bosnia and Herzegovina. One of the first women to practice medicine in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Austria-Hungary, Krajewska mainly treated Bosnian Muslim women, whom she regarded as susceptible to particular health problems. Krajewska wrote detailed notes about the state of women and Muslim customs. These writings, published in 1989, reveal the patronizing attitude towards Muslims that was common for the era. Krajewska stayed in Bosnia after the collapse of Austria-Hungary but the loss of eyesight forced her to retire in 1922. In 1928, she moved back to Warsaw, a decision she regretted, where she died.
context_section_description: Teodora Krajewska was named the public health official (Amtärztin) of the District of Tuzla with the rank of captain by the decree of 28 November 1892. In order to perform obstetric and gynecological procedures, she undertook training in a clinic in Vienna. Women could not study or practice medicine in Austria-Hungary at the time, but exceptions had to be made for Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Muslim women refused to be treated by male physicians. Krajewska was thus not only one of the first female physicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina but in Austria-Hungary as well. Seven women in total were employed to treat Bosnian women; Krajewska was one of the three Russian citizens and one of the two ethnic Poles. Before assuming her office, Krajewska had to take Austro-Hungarian citizenship. She succeeded Anna Bayerová, a Czech, who had resigned shortly after her appointment due to frequent disagreements with her military superiors. Bayerová was unwilling to care predominantly for Bosnian Muslim women, as her superiors had expected, while Krajewska embraced the task.
  Krajewska's arrival in Tuzla in March 1893 was announced by the town crier. She was dismayed to find "these marvellous Slavic women covered by veils". Krajewska learned Serbo-Croatian quickly. She usually rode a Bosnian pony on her visits to remote mountain villages but had to travel by foot when the winters were too severe for the horse. The demand for Krajewska's services was such that the Austro-Hungarian authorities soon employed Bohuslava Kecková, another Pole, who took up post in Mostar. Speaking at the 1896 International Congress of Women in Berlin, Krajewska defended colonialism by arguing that Bosnians and Herzegovinians needed "civilization and progress from the outside", imposed "from above". The imperial feminism espoused by Krajewska was rejected by Austrian women's movements, which had a liberal outlook.
  Krajewska was particularly interested in osteomalacia. She published a detailed article about it in 1900, claiming, on the basis of only 50 cases, that the disorder was endemic among Muslim women living in the mountains of Tuzla District. According to Krajewska, Christian women were never afflicted. She blamed "damp climate", "lack of sun", poverty, malnutrition, and "Muslim customs" (chiefly child marriage, seclusion, veiling, excessive libido of Muslim men, overly frequent pregnancies, and prolonged breastfeeding) for the supposedly endemic osteomalacia.
  In 1901, Krajewska was moved to Sarajevo, with Jadwiga Olszewska replacing her in Tuzla. As the public health official of the District of Sarajevo, she regularly traveled to the towns of Foča, Fojnica, Goražde, Vareš, and Visoko. In addition to practicing medicine, Krajewska taught hygiene in several Sarajevo schools. While doing so, she met another teacher and writer, Jagoda Truhelka, with whom she developed a close friendship. She also formed friendships with native Bosnians, favoring Croats but also including "progressive Muslims"; she disliked Serbs due to their perceived Russophilia. The backbone of her contacts, however, was formed by foreigners who had, like herself, flocked to Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Austro-Hungarian rule.
caption: Austro-Hungarian districts of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Krajewska was first responsible for the towns in the district of Tuzla and then for those in the district of Sarajevo.
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