Renée Girod (2 July 1887 - 12 September 1962) was a Swiss physician and women's activist.

Biography

Girod was born in

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

as the daughter of Maurice Antoine Girod, who eventually became a major in the Swiss General Staff, and his wife Blanche Marie (née Borel). Girod was trained in Bern as a nurse and served as a paramedic during

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Only after the war did she finish secondary school in 1919 and began studying medicine. In Geneva, she became a medical doctor in 1927. She first worked for the

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

, then settled to become a medical practitioner for socially disadvantaged women and children. In Geneva, she became president of the local «Frauenzentrale» (''women's help center'') and of the commission for hygiene in the

Federation of Swiss women's associations alliance F (; by 2011) is the Federation of Swiss Women's Associations. History The presidents of the progressive women's associations from Bern (Helene von Mülinen), Zürich (Emma Boos Jegher), Lausanne (Marguerite Duvillard Chavannes) and Ge ...

. The latter organization was part of the

International Council of Women The International Council of Women (ICW) is a women's rights organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington, D.C., with ...

(ICW), where Girod became the Swiss representative. When the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

erupted, the ICW president

Marthe Boël Marthe Boël (; Ghent, 3 July 1877 – 18 January 1956) was a Belgian feminist. She was the third daughter of the liberal senator Count Oswald de Kerchove de Denterghem and Maria Lippens, daughter of August Lippens. Biography She studied in ...

from Belgium was detained and unable to perform her duties, so Renée Girod was chosen to serve as interim president during the German occupation of Belgium in the years after 1940. Only in May 1945, Boël regained the capabilities to run her office again, until 1947. Girod also was co-founder and vice president of an organization to help expectant mothers, and was involved in the social project ''Vernets d’Arve''. She died in Geneva in 1962.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Girod, Renee Swiss women's rights activists Swiss women physicians 20th-century Swiss physicians 1887 births 1962 deaths