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{{Infobox person
| name               = Vidyabati Kansakar
| image              = Vidyabati kansakar.jpg
| caption            = Vidyabati Kansakar in 1934
| native_name        = विद्याबति कंसकार
| birth_date         = 1906
| birth_place        = Kathmandu, Nepali
| death_date         = 31 January 1976
| education          = 18 months midwifery training in Allahabad, India
| occupation         = Nurse at Bir Hospital
| era                = Rana period (1928-1985 BS)
| known_for          = One of the first nurses and key figures in the development of modern health services of Nepal
| relatives          = Yogbir Singh Kansakar (father)
Shobha Laxmi Kansakar (mother)
4 unknown siblings
| family             = Kansakar family
| honours            = Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu
}}
'''Vidyabati Kansakar''' ({{langx|ne|विद्याबति कंसकार}}) (1906 – 31 January 1976) was a pioneer of nursing in [[Nepal]]. She was among the first batch of four girls sent abroad to [[Prayagraj|Allahabad, India]] receive nurse training in 1928.{{cn|date=February 2024}} They served at Nepal's only hospital [[Bir Hospital]] after their education, and became key figures in the development of modern health services in the country.<ref>{{cite book |date=2011 |title=Nepal Migration Year Book 2010 |url=http://www.sasnet.lu.se/sites/default/files/pdf/migration_year_book_2068.indd.pdf |location=Kathmandu |publisher=Nepal Institute of Development Studies (NIDS) |isbn=978-9937-8112-6-2 |accessdate=6 January 2014 |pages=59-60}}</ref>
==Early life==
Vidyabati was born in [[Kathmandu|Kathmandu, Nepal]] to father, [[Yogbir Singh Kansakar]], and mother, Shova Laxmi.{{cn|date=February 2024}} The eldest of five children, she lost her mother early in life.{{cn|date=February 2024}} As a result, the responsibility of looking after her siblings fell on her.{{cn|date=February 2024}} She received informal education at home from her poet father as the government did not permit girls to go to school.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tuladhar |first=Lochan Tara |date=August 2009 |title=Vidyavati Kasa: The Dawn of Nursing History in Nepal |newspaper=Matina |location=London |publisher=Amrita Shrestha|pages=16-17}}</ref>
==Career==
In 1928 (the Rana period),<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Adhikari |first=Anita |date=1999 |title=History of Nursing in Nepal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333005814_History_of_the_Nursing_in_Nepal/fulltext/5cd6295d299bf14d9589bc75/History-of-the-Nursing-in-Nepal.pdf |journal= |pages=2}}</ref> Vidyabati got an opportunity to pursue her interest in serving society when the government decided to send a few girls to [[India|Allahabad, India]].{{cn|date=February 2024}} They were trained in modern nursing with an 18 months course of midwifery training as there were no nurses in Nepal.{{cn|date=February 2024}} She was among the four candidates selected, and when they returned after their education, they became the first nurses in the country.{{cn|date=February 2024}}
Nepal's first [[allopathic]] hospital Bir Hospital opened in [[Kathmandu]] in 1890. It was manned by foreign doctors, but there were no nurses. In a bid to fulfill this lack, the government sent four girls to [[Allahabad]]. They served at Bir Hospital after their return from India.<ref>{{cite book |date=2011 |title=Nepal Migration Year Book 2010 |url=http://www.sasnet.lu.se/sites/default/files/pdf/migration_year_book_2068.indd.pdf |location=Kathmandu |publisher=Nepal Institute of Development Studies (NIDS) |isbn=978-9937-8112-6-2 |accessdate=6 January 2014 |pages=59-60}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=HRH, Academics & Research|url=http://www.hdixit.org.np/quest/Chap-4.pdf |accessdate=8 January 2014|page=96}}</ref>
Vidyabati set an example of selfless service with her dedication to her profession. After work at the hospital, she would attend to the patients who thronged her home. She made house calls regardless of the hour. Her income also helped to support the family, as her father was often jailed by the government for writing in [[Nepal Bhasa]], a language it sought to suppress. Her father's cloth shop was a gathering place for poets where they discussed literature. In 1929, he and his companions were arrested and fined by the government for applying to open a public library.<ref>{{cite news|last=Tumbahang|first=Govinda Bahadur|title=Marginalization of Indigenous Languages of Nepal|url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-260060566|accessdate=29 January 2014|newspaper=Contributions to Nepalese Studies|date=January 2010}}</ref>
When her ancestral home at Kel Tol was damaged by the [[1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake|Great Earthquake of 1934]], she helped her father buy a piece of land and build a new house. Vidyabati and her colleagues worked extra hard treating the wounded after the devastating quake. The experience gave them improved medical skills, and they became even more sought after.
When Vidyabati was in her late 40s, she got diabetes. She was advised to retire, but she continued to maintain a hectic schedule. Her health continued to worsen, and in 1965, she was forced to retire. She was poor of sight and bedridden during her last days.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tuladhar |first=Lochan Tara |date=August 2009 |title=Vidyavati Kasa: The Dawn of Nursing History in Nepal |newspaper=Matina |location=London |publisher=Amrita Shrestha|pages=16-17}}</ref>
==Honors==
Vidyabati Kansakar was awarded the [[Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu]] by the king of Nepal for her services to the country.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kansakar, Vidyabati}}
[[Category:1906 births]]
[[Category:1976 deaths]]
[[Category:Newar people]]
[[Category:People from Kathmandu]]
[[Category:Nepalese midwives]]
[[Category:Nepalese nurses]]
[[Category:Nepalese women nurses]]