MORE THAN JUST WOMEN

MORE THAN JUST WOMEN is a gripping new stage play by playwright Rashida Costa, set during the height of the 1952 polio outbreak in Brooklyn, NY. As fear spreads and hospital wards overflow, the play confronts sexism in medicine and honors the women whose lifesaving work was dismissed when it mattered most.

At the center of the story is Dr. Saleem, a brilliant and determined physician facing relentless discrimination from a chauvinistic male colleague who believes women have no place in the medical field. As polio rapidly devastates the city, Dr. Saleem is forced to fight two battles at once: one against a deadly epidemic, and another against a system determined to undermine her authority, skill, and humanity.

Inspired by historical realities, MORE THAN JUST WOMEN shines a light on the often-erased role of women in medicine during one of America’s most devastating public health crises. Through sharp dialogue and emotionally charged confrontations, the play explores themes of gender inequality, professional erasure, moral courage, and resilience—issues that remain strikingly relevant today.

“This play is about what happens when prejudice collides with necessity,” says Costa. “Women were saving lives while being told they didn’t belong in the room. That contradiction is not just history—it’s a warning.”

Blending historical urgency with intimate human drama, MORE THAN JUST WOMEN challenges audiences to reconsider whose expertise is trusted, whose voices are silenced, and what is lost when bias outweighs truth—especially when society cannot afford failure.