2405:201:3013:2075:4979:8CA3:C57A:740 at 10:17, 25 January 2022

2022-01-25T10:17:25Z

← Older revision	Revision as of 15:47, 25 January 2022
(No difference)

2405:201:3013:2075:4979:8CA3:C57A:740 at 10:17, 25 January 2022

2022-01-25T10:17:25Z

New page

{{short description|1st Bengali Muslim Physician}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Zohra Begum Kazi
| native_name = জোহরা বেগম কাজী
| native_name_lang = [[Bengali]]
| image = Zohrakazi screenshot01.jpg
| caption = Kazi
| birth_date = {{birth date|1912|10|15|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Rajnandgaon]], [[United Provinces of British India]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|2007|11|7|1912|10|15|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Dhaka]], Bangladesh
| occupation = Medical professional
| alma_mater = [[Lady Hardinge Medical College]]
}}
'''Zohra Begum Kazi''' (15 October 1912{{snd}}7 November 2007) was the first [[Bengali Muslims|Bengali Muslim]] female physician.<ref name=bpedia>{{cite Banglapedia |author=Akhtar, Shirin |article=Kazi, Zohra Begum}}</ref> She was awarded [[Civil decorations of Pakistan#Recipients of the Tamgha-e-Pakistan|Tamgha-e-Pakistan]] (1964), [[Begum Rokeya Padak]] (2002) and [[Ekushey Padak]] (2008).<ref name=bpedia/>

==Early life and family==
Kazi was born in [[Rajnandgaon district|Rajnandgaon]], [[Chhattisgarh]], [[United Provinces of British India]].<ref name=bpedia/> She has been called the [[Florence Nightingale]] of [[Dhaka]]. Kazi came from Kazi family of Gopalpur in the [[Madaripur District]] in what was then [[Bengal]]. Her father, Kazi Abdus Sattar was also a physician and a politician. At the age of 32, Kazi married a lawmaker, Razuddin Bhuiyan MLC MP, the only son of the [[Zamindar]] of Hatirdia in [[Monohardi Upazila]], [[Narsingdi District]]. She was widowed in 1963. Although she did not have any children of her own, Kazi adopted and educated many children from impoverished families throughout Bangladesh.

Her eldest brother Kazi Ashraf Mahmud was a Hindi poet. He retired as a professor of botany, [[Dhaka University]]. Mahmud is most noted for a controversial book of correspondence between [[Mahatma Gandhi]] and himself, published privately immediately after the [[partition of India]]. Kazi's family was closely tied to Mahatma Gandhi and several prominent Indian and later Pakistani politicians of that era. Ashraf served as the secretary general of [[All India Students Federation]] when [[Kazi Nazrul Islam]] was the organizations president.

Her youngest sister Shirin Kazi was also a physician, and a poet. She was noted as being the first Bengali female doctor to obtain a [[DObst RCOG|DRCOG]] degree in 1951. Shirin Kazi later specialized in pediatrics. She was also known for having adopted and raised several children from less fortunate families.

All three siblings once lived in [[Sevagram]], the ashram established by Mahatma Gandhi in [[Nagpur]], India. Zohra Kazi also volunteered at Mahatma Gandhi's Sevashram, (which later gave birth to the [[Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences]]) providing free medical care for the poor. She also served as an honorary secretary of the [[Kasturba Gandhi]] Hospital.

==Education==
Kazi obtained her [[MBBS]] degree in 1935 from [[Lady Hardinge Medical College]] for Women in [[Delhi]]. She ranked First Class First and was awarded the [[Viceroy of India]]'s Medal ([[Freeman Freeman-Thomas]], 1st Marquess of Willingdon, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GBE, PC (12 September 1866 – 12 August 1941)).

Kazi completed her [[College of Physicians & Surgeons Pakistan|FCPS]] degree and received a scholarship from the [[Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists]] in London and obtained [[DObst RCOG|DRCOG]] degree. She continued her studies in London and obtained [[FRCOG]] and [[MRCOG]] degrees. Upon her return to [[East Bengal]] (then renamed [[East Pakistan]]), she joined [[Dhaka Medical College and Hospital]] as a professor and Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

==Career==
During her long career, Kazi held several key positions in medicine. Kazi was posthumously awarded the [[Ekushey Padak]] in February 2008 for her notable social work. During her lifetime, she also received several other distinctions and acknowledgements for her contributions, both medical and philanthropic, to society.

On 21 February 1952, Kazi is said to have organized emergency treatment for the wounded students of the [[Bengali Language Movement]]. During the [[Bangladesh Liberation War]] in 1971, she sought out and provided medical attention to the wounded Freedom Fighters. Throughout her life, she took an active interest in the well-being of all her patients and the children she delivered.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}Kazi died on 7 November 2007 at the age of 95.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-62300|title=A tribute to Dr Zohra Kazi |date=8 November 2008 |work=The Daily Star|access-date=9 March 2018|language=en}}</ref>

==Documentary==
A documentary film titled ''Zohra Kazi'' was recently released in Bangladesh. The film was directed by Mahbubul Alam Taru. The documentary illustrates Kazi's life and her success; her lifelong fight against illogical superstitions and backward beliefs, convincing uneducated female patients all over India and Bangladesh, the need for modern medical treatment.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kazi, Zohra Begum}}
[[Category:1912 births]]
[[Category:2007 deaths]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi gynecologists]]
[[Category:Recipients of Begum Rokeya Padak]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Ekushey Padak]]
[[Category:Burials at Banani Graveyard]]
[[Category:Dhaka Medical College and Hospital faculty]]
[[Category:Bangladeshi people of Indian descent]]
[[Category:People from Rajnandgaon]]

Zohra Begum Kazi - Revision history

2405:201:3013:2075:4979:8CA3:C57A:740 at 10:17, 25 January 2022

2405:201:3013:2075:4979:8CA3:C57A:740 at 10:17, 25 January 2022